Chains of love 2:Through a childs eyes
by PyrettaBlaze75
Summary: This is an accounting of the events  of  Chains of Love 1  and beyond through the eyes of Freddy &Loretta's daughter Katherine.  I don't own any of these characters except for Betty.  The rest belong to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema.


Sweet innocent child, with your open eyes,  
You ve seen us foul,  
We really are And I know that there will be tomorrow so How can we hold this glory day?  
And I wish that this world will embrace you from magic stars and mystery.  
My open heart...

Chorus:

Why did we make it so hard, this life is so complicated Until we see it through the eyes of a child.  
Why did we make it so hard, this life is so complicated Until we see it through the eyes of a child.

I know you. I ve seen your face before.  
You brought me to this open door, afraid to walk through.  
Please take my hand.  
And I know that there will be tomorrow so How can we hold this glory day?  
And I wish that this world will embrace you from magic stars and mystery.  
My open heart...

Chorus:

Why did we make it so hard, this life is so complicated Until we see it through the eyes of a child.  
Why did we make it so hard, this life is so complicated Until we see it through the eyes of a child.~" "Through the eyes of a child" by Reamonn

Mid July 1968 1428 Elm Street 12:35 AM

7 year old Katherine Krueger shivered as she sat upright in bed hugging her teddy bear, her quilt wrapped tightly around her.  
She had been put to bed at 8:30 and was supposed to have been asleep hours ago but as hard as she tried sleep had not come . And so finally she had stopped trying.  
So she sat up and rocked herself back and forth way she had calmed herself ever since she could remember but she was frightened, so frightened and couldn't stop herself from looking around fearfully. It was so dark outside and a mighty wind was screeching , blowing, howling making the tree branches scrape the windows and throw eerie shadows across the walls.  
The news on the radio her Daddy had been listening to earlier said that a storm was supposed to come in the early morning hours and even though she knew thats what was behind the wind and the sounds, it didn't make her any less scared. Because Katherine was always scared now. Ever since the day her Mommy had went long had it been now?  
She tried to keep track at first, to hold on, to remember. But now the days had blurred all together and she didn't know.

Thats the way her Daddy wanted it,the sooner she forgot the better he told her over and over.

Her Daddy. Her stomach jumped at the thought of him.

She heard him now down below in the bowels of the house in his secret room, stirring the faint buzz of some kind of 'd probably be down there all night and Kat was glad for a break from facing him .  
For now as much as she had always loved her Daddy, she now feared him as well.

For so long now he'd been drilling her, questioning her, telling her what she'd better tell anyone and everyone about her Mommy and what she needed to believe.  
It seemed like he never let up and the pressure was so great that she almost started to believe what he told Mommy took off with another man. Leaving nothing but a note behind and had left Daddy and me all alone.  
The note had said that she was tired of married life, tired of being tied down, had married too young and that she hoped Daddy could manage raising me alone.  
It ended with a sorry and a Goodbye. Daddy had already shown the note to everyone.  
My Grandparents who argued loudly with Daddy and didn't seem to believe him and then the nice policeman Mr. Thompson from down the street and another man that had come a few hours later. Daddy reminded me each time before he opened the door with a scary look and low tone " Remember Katherine not a fucking word out of you , you got it!" and I quickly nodded my head.

The policemen had asked Daddy if they could have a quick look through the house and Daddy said ok.  
Mr. Thompson patted my shoulder and gave me a smile and wink as he went up the stairs and into Mommy and Daddy's bedroom. They found all of Mommy's clothes and jewelry gone except for her wedding rings she left beside the all seemed so simple, so much better than the truth.

I wanted to sink into the idea that Mommy was gone off somewhere "probably sunning herself on the beach with some shiftless son of a bitch" as I overheard Daddy tell Mr. Thompson when I was not supposed to be listening like I did when playacting out my favorite books and tv shows.

I wanted to believe .But like the time the film messed up last year when Mommy took me to the movies and had jumped back and forth over and over, my mind wouldn't stop replaying what I had saw happen to Mommy. Wouldn't let me forget.

It had been late on a Saturday afternoon.I was running in the back yard with my Daddy playing tag so happy to have 2 days off from school and to be with my Daddy- the person I loved best.  
He had promised me 2 days of fun , so much fun together for him and had started at lunchtime when he fixed me my favorite chocolate chip pancakes instead of the soup and sandwich Mommy usually insisted I eat for lunch.

Then it was outside where he read me a story , pushed me in my swing and now a game of tag . He had promised a trip to the ice cream shop tonight after dinner, just him and me. And tomorrow a trip to the zoo and then dinner after the movies and then a walk along the river at Sunset before we came home. "Just you and me Princess" he had grinned and I had thrown my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, so thrilled at what he had planned for us.  
And I flew over the grass hearing Daddy's warm laughter behind me as he chased me , always letting me outrun him on purpose when suddenly everything stopped. I turned and looked to see why he had stopped our game and saw Mommy coming up from the basement looking pale, trembling and with tears running down her cheeks.

What could be wrong?

Daddy was glaring at her , his eyes shining with a strange light as she came towards him.  
" I won't tell Fred. I swear, I won't tell." Mommy said as she walked up to Daddy and he reached out and grabbed her arms.

He turned quickly to me "Katherine, go in the house now and stay there." he said in his scary voice. He didn't use that voice with me often but when he did I knew he meant business so I quickly walked towards the open basement door.  
Taking a chance before I went in I looked back and Daddy was shaking Mommy saying" How dare you go in there? How dare you touch my things? You damn well know better !"

I hated when they fought so I went on down the stairs hoping as with the other times it would soon be over.  
After a fight, Daddy was always mad at Mommy and ignored her for a while but always came was always alright.  
Then I saw door to Daddy's private room was open. The one he had told us to keep out of and had told me to never to come around.  
He told me this to me lovingly but firmly one night after dinner. I wanted him to play with me but he got up and said he had work to do downstairs. I said I'd come with him but he said no he was too busy. I said I'd just sit there when he said I said no Katherine! in a loud voice. I was upset but he said me on his knee and explained that there things there very sharp and dangerous especially to little girls and that I could get hurt.  
He said someday maybe he'd let me in and show me all sorts of things when I was much older but not now. And I obeyed him but Mommy must have gotten in never liked this room, always said she didn't know why Daddy needed it and why he spent so much time there.

Well, maybe since it was open I could take a a peek. Daddy 'd never I crept inside.

At first I thought I was in a bad dream. Like the nightmares I had sometimes that I couldn't wake up from and I'd thrash around and scream and only Daddy could bring me out of them but this was daytime and what I saw was real.  
There was these .. gloves hanging from shelves with these big sharp claws like a bear. So many of them and on the walls pages from the newspaper about these missing kids from my class. Their names in big letters .I recognized them- Judy Jenkins, Jack Marshall, Cindy Williams, Sam Bahner, Mary Dalton and so many more. Their smiling faces stared out at me from the newsprint, blurring together.

NO, there had to be a mistake. These things shouldn't be here.I would go to Daddy. He could explain it all away . He would make everything all right.

Despite my Daddy's orders I bounded scared up the stairs and as I reached the doorway I heard Daddy yelling and ran out into the yard to see him chocking Mommy and slamming her head into the wall hard over and over again. I stood there frozen in fear until panting hard, Daddy threw Mommy on the ground and bent over with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

Mommy lay there, silent and still.  
I willed her to move , to cough to do something, to be alright.  
Nothing happened. "Mommy, Mommy!" I yelled in a panic and took off running towards her tears streaming down my sprung into action, grabbed me under one arm , clasp his hand over my mouth , hissed at me to shut the hell up and hurriedly grabbed a large black garbage sack from the shed, flung it over Mommy,weighed it down with a couple of big rocks at either end and walked as fast as he dared into the house.

Once in the basement he sat me down on the floor locked the door, lowered the blind and sat down beside me. I was crying from fright.I had never known fear like this before. I was afraid of the dark, of the monsters in an old movie on TV Daddy had let me watch when I woke up and went looking for him late one night, but nothing like this.

Daddy stroked my back and tried to calm me down."Shuhh Kat, stop crying. Everythings all right . Its alright." he said in the soothing voice of his that I'd always loved .  
"But,but Daddy you hurt Mommy and she's.. she's.. and I... " I could say no more and broke out into fresh heaving sobs.

"Yes, I did Mommy had to take her medicine for snooping into Daddy's special work.I warned her never to do that and she was very , very, very disobeyed me.  
You know, nothing was ever good enough for your Mother. I gave her it wasn't enough. She always wanted something more, something else...  
I slave away at work so she could stay home with you, always put food on the table and did my husbandly duty and she couldn't do the one thing I asked her to do. Stay out of my fuckin ' business!" Daddy exclaimed his face once again growing red.

I looked at him,too afraid to say anything.

"Yes Katherine,you need to listen to me and listen well. your Mothers gone for good. She is never coming . From now on, its just you and me Katherine. You will always have me.I will take good care of know I'd never hurt you Kat. I wouldn't have hurt your Mother either if she hadn't of been so very bad.  
You need to start forgetting her Katherine. Put her put of your mind. She never existed. Do you hear me? She 's long gone. You keep telling yourself that. And someday sooner than you think she will be a distant memory.  
And you'd better not ever,ever tell anyone what you saw or what happened today.  
If you do Katherine bad, bad things will happen to you."

"Strangers will come take you away from me 'll never let you see me again."

"They'll take you away and put you in big , cold, dark places called orphanages with other naughty little boys and girls or kids whose parents wanted rid of are bad places Sweetheart.  
Like jails for kids. You'll barely get enough to eat there, your bed will be old , lumpy and hard to sleep on, the other kids will hit you and tease you . They'll hate you, just like they did me.  
If you ever are lucky enough to get out of there, you'll go to something called a foster home.  
Or maybe a few of people there will hurt you 'll beat you, lock you up in the basement to freeze in the me Katherine. Your Daddy grew up in places just like those . I know what I'm talking about and I'd never lie to you.I've never lied to you."

"Now, you don't want to leave Daddy do you?"

"No" I tearfully shook my head.

"You don't want to end up in one of those places right?"

I shook my head again.

"Then Kat, you can never , ever tell." "Remember what I told you would happen. And besides you'd make your Father, VERY, VERY angry and you sure don't want that do you Princess?" he said his face growing dark, his voice growing tight and his green eyes boring into me as he squeezed my wrist painfully.

"Nooo Daddy never." I stammered.

" His face relaxed after a minute or two and he smiled at me.

"Good. Now lets go wash your face" he said lifting me to my feet and nudging me to the bathroom.

After that Daddy fixed me Dinner. A can of soup warmed up on the stove just like it was any other night in the world instead of the night he had killed Mommy.

Yes, I knew that Mommy was dead. Daddy told me she was gone, but he didn't have to say any more.  
I knew what death was. Had known ever since the last Summer when a car had hit the Jackson's dog and it had lain quiet and still just like Mommy did now.  
It was Mommy who had came to me then when I was crying in the yard , took me inside and explained to me about life and death and how animals and people went to Heaven. A beautiful Heaven.

I only hoped that Mommy was there now.

The night dragged on. Daddy insisted we watch TV on the couch like always and we did but Daddy was nervous. Every few minutes he got up to pace the room,peer out the blinds at the street and specially the window that looked into the back yard.  
Finally I fell asleep. Daddy nudged me awake and as I sat up I through blurry eyes I saw the clock over the TV said 12:30.  
" Come on Kat . Time for bed." Daddy said and he picked me up , carried me up the Stairs and tucked me in bed saying little. But when he left he locked the door behind him from the outside the way he did when I was forced to stay in my room as punishment.

Despite my tiredness, I laid awake listening the best I could.

I heard Daddy go into his and Mommy's bedroom and heard things being shuffled around and moved.

Daddy went up and down the stairs 3 or 4 times.

Then I heard him go around from door to door and the locks clicking just like he always did at night when we went to bed.

Sometime after that I heard a car in the street and jumped out of the window to see Daddy slowly driving our car away up the dark street.  
I watched him until he was gone, then crawled back into bed and laid there awake staring at my ceiling and thinking of Mommy.  
Although I was afraid that Daddy might come back and hear I couldn't stop from crying for her again. Then I fell asleep.

ENTER FREDDY- 5:30 AM:

Fred Krueger paced the upstairs hallway outside his daughters cigarette after cigarette, he stood staring down at vast dark expanse of Elm Street alone with his frantic thoughts.  
A few minutes ago, he had returned from the unpleasant task of disposing of Loretta's body.  
After putting Kat to bed finally, he walked around the house looking from every window checking to see if it was safe to spring into action keenly looking and listening.  
The houses of Elm Street were dark and silent and Freddy knew he had to act now.  
Quickly changing his clothes to a black t-shirt, black work pants,work boots and baseball cap, he eased out of the house into the backyard.  
Loretta of course was where he had left her and working as quietly and quickly as he could , he wrapped her up in several more garbage bags , dragged her across the dark yard to where the car was handily parked under the large Elm tree that boarded the street behind the house and lowered her into the back back across the yard he grabbed an old, navy blue blanket from the shed that Loretta used to cover her fresh canning with in the basement each Winter and covered her up.  
Oh ,but only half his work was done here.

Leaving the back door open, he ran up the stairs and grabbing boxes and empty shopping bags and any thing else he could find he started loading up Loretta's things and attempting to keep to the natural shadows the trees and night provided to load them into the car as well. The story that he was going to use to explain Loretta's disappearance had already taken shape in his had a plan.  
That meant everything had to go even her fucking perfume and makeup.

For a woman who was always complaining that the income he made at the plant after groceries and bills left her with very little for herself to buy the clothes, shoes and whatever else she wanted she sure had a lot of crap Freddy bitched to himself as he , he was finished and he locked every door in the house and checked them twice.  
Kat was sound asleep but he had to make sure that with what she had witnessed today that she wouldn't have a nightmare and go running out the door crying and yelling while he was doing what had to be done.

Kids could be so unpredictable. Thats why he had so much work ahead of him with Katherine to insure that Loretta's fate stayed a secret.

Freddy started the car and eased it as slowly as he could up the street until he had cleared the he turned the car towards his destination- the power plant. His heart pounding the whole time he took the back roads and made sure he stayed at the speed limit.  
Finally arriving his unlocked the gates and drove his car through.  
That was the best part of having worked here since the end of high school and never having had the drive and ambition to move up in the world and better his station in life" that Loretta's parents had often needled him about.  
He was trusted,he had access to any part of the complex day or night and didn't have to clear his coming and goings with anyone.  
Over the years Fred had proven to be a model employee , always willing to do the chores nobody else wanted to do or perform extra work for no had earned him the keys to what truly was his kingdom, the place that had always felt like home.  
And this would be his salvation now.  
As he drove along the grounds he knew exactly where he was headed.  
At the very back of the property abutting up against an empty, dusty lot there was an abandoned boiler had been built back in early 20's and declared unsafe about 5 years ago by the company inspectors from Cincinnati on one of their twice yearly visits.  
It would have taken too much money to bring it up to code and besides the power plant had expanded by leaps and bounds since those days and nobody needed this old facility with the massive boiler rooms that had been built in the plant in the last 20 years.  
For a long time , the company said ever so often they were going to tear it down but they never did and Freddy had claimed it as his own. Its where he went to do his "special work" and where he was going to have to make Loretta vanish forever now.  
He carried Loretta's shrouded body inside and placing her in the large furnace looked down and sighed. Even though killing and death and all its macabre aspects had become almost normal to him since he gave into the dark, rageful, hate filled urges he had fought for so long and embarked on his double life he had never planned to or wanted to hurt his wife.

Sure , Loretta often annoyed the fuck out of him with his constant clinging and questions and demands and yes, she consistently pissed him off with her refusal to accept what he felt her place in their marriage should be , but she still had her good points.  
She kept the house clean, the laundry done, the meals cooked, Kat fed, washed and dressed and everything in its place pretty much just the way he liked did most of what he wished her to do,even if he didn't always agree with how she wanted to raise Katherine.

And he had loved her once. For a long time. Even though the passionate love he had once felt for her had faded,he couldn't deny that he still felt a geniuene fondness for her.

And there were still times even now when in the quiet evenings he spent at home after Kat was in bed when they were in the living room- her with her sewing and knitting , he with his newspaper or with the tv on low when they talked about the parenting of Katherine, the bills or any of the other minutia that makes up even the most basic married life that he still enjoyed her company.  
He was even working on a definite plan to move the family to California when he thought the heat from his killings was getting to be too much.  
He looked again down at her covered form. "Oh Loretta, why did you have to do this? Why'd you have to snoop and pry? Why did you disobey me on the one thing I ever absolutely forbid you to do?  
If you had just obeyed me, just abided by my wishes, this would have never have could have went on together as a family.

Fred lamented and with a sigh fired up the furnace and as it started devouring the mortal coil of Loretta turned his had no desire to watch her final destruction.  
Disposing of the body and Loretta's belongings took hours.  
By the time he had finished , he drove back home as quickly as he dared and as he parked the car the same place he left it. Looking around, Elm Street seemed to be as much in slumber as he had left it but one could never be sure so he took nothing for granted , his observant eyes and keening ears looking for am movement and listening for any sound.

He had spent the remaining minutes of the pre dawn hours lost in thought and the next thing he knew the sun had risen and the house was beginning to fill with light. Looking at the clock he started down the stairs to start on Kat's breakfast.  
He wanted to get her up early had a hell of a lot of talking to do starting today.  
EXIT FREDDY

When I woke up the birds were singing and the sun was shining and Daddy was standing in my doorway looking at me.  
"Morning Princess" he said looking at me close. "Breakfast is ready. Come down now."

" Yes Daddy. I have to go to the bathroom first." he nodded and I heard him going back down the stairs.  
I waited a minute then crept as fast as I could down the hallway to Mommy and Daddy's room.  
The door to Mommy's closet was a little bit open so I looked inside . It was empty. All of Mommy's clothes and shoes were gone. Her housecoat was gone from the back of the door.

I looked into their bathroom. Even Mommy's shampoo and her special perfume she let me dab a little bit on sometimes were gone!

Like Daddy said, it was like Mommy hadn't ever existed and my eyes filled with tears .  
"Katherine, just whats taking you so long? Your eggs are getting cold." Daddy called up the stairs a note of impatience creeping into voice.  
"Coming Daddy" I called back and ran down the stairs. Daddy pulled out my chair and I dug into breakfast right away. My Father sat across from me and studied me closely as I ate.  
"Good, baby? " he asked as I finished and I nodded my head and tried to smile.

Not long after Dinner, he ordered me into the basement and pointed to the couch and told me to sit. Then it started. The pounding into me of what to say when people asked me about Mommy, how to say it. What to say and do if people asked me certain questions. What not to say. All of it said over and over, to be repeated back to him from me.

It went on and on like day long, over meals , even when he put me to bed at night.  
It all ran together and at times I almost forgot what really happened but there was one small part of her mind that stubbornly held on to the truth.

But I was when my Grandparents came, silent when the Police did, silent at the questions the neighbors asked my Father and through all the meals the consoling ladies of the neighborhood brought someone asked me a question about my Mother I just burst into tears and Father would say she was too upset to talk. I hadn't adjusted yet. I needed time.  
With all the pressure I was under from my Dad and the fear that was always there, I found it very easy to cry at those thats what my Father wanted. He was pleased with me although always wary and watchful.

Not long after the Police came-Marge- Mr. Thompson' s pretty wife showed up at the door one evening with a casserole and cherry pie she had made for them.

My Father thanked her shortly but invited her in.  
From the way he stood she could tell her Dad didn't like Marge never had.  
But I liked Marge's daughter. Little Nancy.  
Mommy had watched her sometimes for Marge when her other babysitter couldn't come.  
It was suppertime so Fred dished out the casserole to me and as I ate , I listened to the two adults talk.

"Fred, I'm just so sorry about this." Marge said putting her hand on Fred's shoulder consolingly.  
"Yeah me too." he replied looking away.  
"I just can't figure Marge out. This is so unlike her. She was so devoted to you and Kat. She's not the kind of woman to do something like this. I don't doesn't make sense" Marge puzzled.

Fred took a deep breath and tried to quell his anger over the woman's prying. Why did people have to be so damn nosy in this neighborhood? He had put out a perfectly plausible story so why wouldn't they leave him the fuck alone?  
Men's wives leaving them was becoming more common.  
You heard about it more often because it didn't happen in this little shithole town Springwood all the time didn't mean it didn't elsewhere or couldn't here. Shit! He was sick of this! Their endless questions, their searching looks, their prying eyes.  
This had better let up soon or he'd leave. Just grab Kat and take off. Change their names, go to another state without a word to was his eventual plan anyway. But it had to be played out just right. He had to let some time go by. At least 6 months, maybe a little longer to avoid looking suspicious. But if people didn't stop this prying soon he was gonna do it now , just as soon as he could.

"And you haven't heard from Loretta? NO contact at all?" Marge was asking.  
" No" he simply said shrugging his shoulders.

"Do you think you will?" She asked.  
His hands tightened into fists behind his back." I doubt it with the way she left too busy screwing her new boyfriend." he said and Marge gave a shocked glance to Kat at the table.

"Um, I guess you'll be going back to work soon. I know you've been out for a few weeks."

"Well, yeah. I had to try to help Kat adjust but I'll have to return to work next made of money you know." he said resentfully.

Marge sensed that she had overstayed her welcome and made her exit.

"Well, I've got to get back. Time to fix Dinner. Please, if theres anything we can do for you and Kat, let us know. Don and I would be happy to." Marge told Freddy as she left.

"Yes, Thank you and thank you a lot for the food. We appreciate it ." he smiled managing to muster up one last bit of charming politeness as Marge left shutting the door behind her.  
He smiled with great relief as he watched her walk back down the street through the blinds and Kat heard him mutter" nosy bitch" under his breath as he walked to the counter to cut her a piece of the pie for dessert.

The next little while passed as the last few weeks had gotten a call from his boss to come back to work next Monday if he wanted to keep his job . Daddy found himself with a real problem or so he said as he paced the living room at night talking to himself quietly as I watched had to go back to work, there was no choice. He had spent his savings while he had been off and he had to have money for us to live on now and so we could leave here later.

He had no family to watch me, sure as hell didn't trust anybody from the town to do it and couldn't leave me alone.  
Finally,he found a saw an ad a teenage girl from the next town over had put in the paper offering her babysitting and house cleaning services.  
Daddy called her on the phone and since our house was kinda close to the next town's border she agreed if Daddy would pay her the extra gas money she would need.  
Daddy grumbled but said ok.  
So not long before the sun set on Monday ,Betty came over to watch waited for her approach in the doorway with his arms folded.

He had a long list of instructions to give her. No. 1 was that I wasn't to go outside much or leave the yard alone , I wasn't to answer the phone and I wasn't to talk much to any neighbors I might saw.

Daddy said" My little girls been through a lot with the way her Mom just vanished from our lives and the people here are way too 's already had enough of their questions and gossip. She doesn't need to hear no more of it." If they come along I want you to say she has to go, move her along, take her back in the house , make up an excuse. Do you understand Betty?

I could tell by the look on her face that Betty thought it was weird, but she nodded and said " Sure, Mr. Krueger. Whatever you say."

Daddy picked up his lunchbox and put on his brown hat and as he went out the door, he petted me on the head and said" I'll be back from work as soon as my shift ends you be a good know what I mean." he said his eyes boring into me as he left.

Things went on ok for a little wasn't a bad babysitter. We mainly stayed in the house and she made me simple meals and I watched tv , played with my toys and read my storybooks.

She took me out to the backyard for about an hour before dark and let me play while she sat on the grass and read her romance novels.  
Then one day around noon when Daddy was asleep on the couch where he had collapsed after coming home from his shift and I was playing a board game by myself, the phone rang and Daddy sprang to answer it. It was his work. There was an emergency at the plant and he was needed . No getting out of slammed down the phone and ran around cursing as he got dressed. He frantically called Betty who told him she'd have to cancel a Dr.s appointment to come now and would have to charge him double. Daddy steamed fine and slammed the phone down again.  
Finally ready to go, he told me that Betty would be here in an hour , that He was locking the door behind him and I was to stay in the house and quietly wait for her to arrive.  
With a warning to me that I'd better behave, he left quickly.

Betty arrived later and we sat in the living room.

At 5 PM she looked at the clock said it was time for her to start my Supper and she went into the Betty worked and listened to the radio to pass the time she reflected on her new job and circumstances.  
She had been babysitting for some years now ever since she was 14 and Kat was a joy to look after. Calm and quiet she tended to do what she was told and seemed to spend much of her time wrapped up in her own little was nothing like so many of the little nightmares that Betty had cared for in her other babysitting jobs.  
The pay was decent and having her gas money covered was extra fact this was one of the best jobs that Betty had ever was one one thing she could find fault with in this gig- her boss Mr. Krueger.  
He was a handsome guy and was outwardly pleasant but there was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on that she found deeply unnerving.  
And there was all the weird restrictions he put on Kat. She had never encountered that in a job before.  
She supposed that he was somehow doing it for Kat's own good since she naturally was so affected by her Mothers' leaving her and Kat certainly didn't seem to be abused in any way but there was still something about it that stuck in Betty's craw all the same.

Then the doorbell rang and Betty startled, hastened to answer opened the door to a man in A khaki uniform who holding up a badge identified himself as Lt. Donald Thompson, Springwood Police.

"Good evening Miss. I need to speak with Kathryn Krueger please." he stated. Betty looked nervously at Kat sitting on the floor drawing with her crayons.  
"Um, can I ask why?" Betty stammered.

No. This is confidential police business." Donald was firm.

"Well, I don't think so. You see I've got strict orders from her Father that she's not to see or talk to anyone while I'm watching her and I have to abide by his orders. Maybe you could come back when he's here but I just can't let you see her now. Ok?" Betty's heart was racing in fear. She couldn't believe she was saying this to the police!

"No, not young lady, I have every right to question Katherine at this time.I live right up the street. I can have her back in no time, but I either talk to her now or you and she will both be coming downtown and I'll have to charge you with attempting to impede an active investigation. You wouldn't want that would you?"

Betty vigiriously shook her head no."Alright then.I'll return her to your charge in a short while." "Come with me Katherine right now." he said and gently taking Kat by the arm steered her out the door.

Betty paced the floor in panic for several . Krueger would be furious and at her!  
What could she do? How was she going to handle this?  
Finally after what seemed like hours of debating within herself, she decided the only thing to do was to place an urgent call to him at she wasn't supposed to do except in cases of emergency but in Betty's mind this qualified.  
Hopefully, then his wrath wouldn't fall on her head as surely he would see that under the circumstances she had done the only thing she could do?  
After several more minutes, she worked her up courage and slowly walked to the phone.

As they walked the short distance down the street to his house Donald looked down at the fearful child could feel her trembling as she held his hand. He knew the kid had been through a lot and he hated to put her through more but he had no choice but to question her.  
He had been hoping for weeks to get a chance.  
Fred kept her locked up most of the time and never left her side the couple times that Donald had been to the house to talk with him since Loretta's had told him that Fred had went back to work and hired a babysitter but although Donald kept out a watchful eye , he never saw the two of them outside.  
Today, Donald had forgotten of all things his gun and coming back home for a quick trip to retrieve it saw Krueger leave in a hurry alone.  
Donald waited a good 45 minutes, just looking out the window but when Krueger didn't return something inside him told him the time was now,that this might be his only opportunity.  
Calling into work he told them that he was following a lead and wouldn't be back in for a while.  
He was a good enough detective that his superiors and fellow officers tended to trust his word on such things.  
With no time to waste ,he set off up the street .

From almost the beginning , Fred Krueger's story about his wife Loretta running off with another guy hadn't rung true for Donald or his wife Marge and they had discussed it extensively.  
They had known Loretta for many years now ever since they had moved into the neighborhood as newlyweds. One of the first people to greet them had been the fellow newly wedded , and as she had laughingly informed them newly pregnant Loretta Krueger.  
Donald who remembered Fred Kruger well from their school days remembered being slightly surprised that Freddy had married such a retiring,slightly shy , all American girl but the years had went on and both couples seemed to do well.  
It was Marge that had , had the most contact with Loretta of had maintained a very friendly neighborly relationship sometimes having a cup of coffee or dessert and taking care of each others kids when one was in a bind.  
When Loretta's parents had come to the police station to report their daughter missing,Fred and Marge were instantly alarmed.  
Their concern only grew when after Donald went to talk to Fred and he had given them his"My wife left me sob story" complete with note.  
That sure didn't sound like the Loretta they knew.  
For one thing she was utterly devoted to her daughter and they couldn't believe that she would leave her behind or not make some sort of arrangements about seeing her.  
And as Marge pointed out , Loretta was a salt of the earth type some flirty , restless neighborhood vamp.  
All that combined with the desperate pleadings of Loretta's parents and Donald knew something was very wrong.  
The problem was is that if there had been foul play as Donald feared , Fred had covered his tracks far too well.  
You certainly couldn't arrest or charge a man on nothing more than your suspicions which was all that Donald had right now despite a lot of digging on his part.

No, he believed that in unlocking the mystery of what had happened to her Mother, little Katherine held the key.  
And he had to do whatever he could within reason to get the truth from her.

He led Kat into the house and directing her to sit down ,had Marge bring her a soda.  
"Now Katherine, I'm sure you know why I brought you here today right? Why I need to talk to you?" Katherine nodded .

"I need to talk to you about your Mommy Kat. Do you know what happened to her?"  
Kat nodded her head." Yes, she left us forever and she's not coming left with another man."

"And have you heard from her?" Kat shook her head no.  
"Then how do you know this Kat? Did you see her life or did she tell you she was leaving?"  
Kat shook her head no again.

"Then you only know this because your Daddy told you right?"

"Yes, but my Daddy doesn't lie." Kat fired back at him very defensively for such a young child.  
And so on and on went the questioning for 20 minutes until Donald sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration.  
This wasn't going to be an easy kid to break. Krueger had her trained very well.  
He was going to have to take a different approach.  
After gathering his wits for a few minutes Donald leaned in closer towards Kat and said softly "Katherine, you know your Mother loved you very much right? I mean you were her pride and joy. All she ever talked about. Do you realize this Katherine?"

Kat nodded yes while attempting to bat back the first hint of tears trying to form behind her eyes.

"Now Kat when someone loves someone else that much, its a special kind of Mom would have done anything for you Katherine. If someone had hurt you, she'd have went to the ends of the earth to protect you or try to make it right. She'd have never given up on that or you.  
Because she loved you that much. Do you love your Mother Katherine?"

Kat hurriedly nodded yes.

"Well then Kat if someone hurt your dear Mother and you know something about it, you have a duty to her to tell what you don't then you are letting down your Mommy in the worst way .  
You are betraying her Katherine, turning your back on her down. I know you know what happened won't you tell me? For your poor Momma's sake?"

Katherine was shaking violently in her chair and fighting a battle inside herself. What Mr. Thompson was saying kept echoing as her Mothers final moments flashed and pounded in her fevered mind.

Finally , it was as if everything she had been keeping contained these last few weeks burst out and in a sobbing scream she burst out with the truth" Yes, Yes Daddy killed Mommy. She looked in his secret room and he got so he didn't mean to! He didn't, he didn't! I swear!" and convulsed with sobs.

Donald and Marge shared a quick look of knowing triumph and Marge moved quickly to take hysterical child into her arms and rock her back and forth while Donald got up and grimly went to the telephone in the other room to make the arrangements for Krueger's arrest and Kat's entry into foster care.  
She needed a safe place to go quickly and the sooner Fred was behind bars the better as far as Donald was concerned.

Meanwhile , Betty was frantically running out of 1428 Elm.  
Throwing her purse haphazardly into the front seat she backed out of the driveway and turning her car towards the other end of the street, burned rubber out of Springwood.  
The sheer rage that Mr. Krueger had unleashed on her over the phone had left her shaken to the core. She hadn't had the easiest life but had never experienced such fury directed at her before.  
He had informed her that he was coming home right away to " deal with this bullshit and heads are going to fuckin roll" and slammed down the phone.  
Betty didn't know for certain if that meant that he intended to do any dealing with her but she wasn't going to take a chance to find out.

As he always paid her in weekly installments he owed her a weeks pay but that was 'd gladly let it go.  
It was a small price to pay in exchange for getting out of this situation unscathed.  
Betty hoped with all her heart that little Katherine would be alright, but hoping seemed to be about all she could do.  
And with that though, she tried to settle her jangled nerves as left the Springwood town limits and its charming , brand new sign extolling its virtues for raising a family and hoped to put this whole thing behind her.

Within less than 30 minutes a sense of mini panic had descended over the neighborhood. Police cars were parked on the street near the Kruger house and the cops that came with them were discussing leaving shortly to go arrest Fred at the power plant.  
The social workers were just arriving in a dark blue sedan to take Katherine away to the Springwood children's home until other arrangements could be made for her.  
This is precisely the scene that Freddy ran into when he zoomed into his street towards his house.  
Freddy cursed to himself as he saw the police cards but as he stepped out of the car he vowed to keep his there was still a way out of this. After all they'd never find a trace of Loretta now and he had trained Kat very well. Taking a deep breath he faced Donald Thompson as he approached him.  
"Donald, whats going on? " he asked trying to look bewildered.  
"Whats going on Fred is that you are under arrest for the murder of your wife Loretta Kruger. You can ask for a lawyer once we get downtown .Now put your hands behind your back and turn around." Donald ordered matter of factly.

"What? No, no. Wheres Kat? Katherine, Katherine!" Fred yelled out looking around Wildly.

"Fred, Katherine is alright. Besides I think you have other things to worry about right now." Donald said sarcastically.  
Just then, the car carrying little Katherine away drove had been tearfully looking out the window and when she saw her Father she screamed "Daddy, Daddy"! and tried to climb out the window.  
Fred saw this and his heart sank. They'd done it. Despite all his vigilance and effort they'd gotten to his little girl. They'd turned her against him. And now they were taking her away from him.

Freddy violently shrugged off the officers trying to contact him and sprinted after the car."No, no Katherine!No,don't take her! Don't take my baby! Katherine!"  
Kat wriggled into the back seat and crying hysterically the last thing she saw was her Father being wrested to the ground by police officers as the car turned the corner and Elm Street faded from view.  
Kat cried bitterly for hours long after arriving at the children's home. What had she done? How could she have become of the weak people her Daddy hated and always warned her against? Her Mommy was gone and now she had betrayed her beloved Daddy. She knew she had. Oh why had she done it? Why hadn't she been stronger? Been more able to hold up against Mr. Thompson's questions like her Daddy had taught and asked her to do?  
Now she'd probably never see him again and who knew what would happen to him?  
He was all she 's hysterical sobs lasted well into the night and finally at 11 PM after many attempts to comfort her, the weary staff at the home gave up and put her under deep sedation.  
They knew this was a child who would have many challenges and a long road ahead but they'd done all they could tonight. They'd deal with her tomorrow. After all, tomorrow was a new day.

Donald Thompson stepped over the threshold of Freddy's home prepared to begin carrying out the search warrant that had just come down from the judge.  
It had been a bitch of a day.  
Fred had not went quietly or had taken 4 of his men to take Krueger down and get him into the car for the ride to the jail.  
Finding out that his neighbor really had killed his wife even though he had suspected him all along wasn't fun either.

What he really hoped now was to determine if Loretta 's body was somewhere on the premises. They were already putting lights out in the backyard and bringing in the cadaver dogs in case they got a hit.  
Donald was flush with tiredness but had much ahead to do. They'd likely be here all night.  
"Ok Krueger, Let's see whats in your hiding place." Donald muttered as he pulled on his plastic gloves and went in search of Freddy's "secret room".  
What he would find there would send shockwaves through a town, start a legend and would bring into being a real life dream demon whose reign would be eternal.

THE END!

Mid July 1968 1428 Elm Street 12:35 AM

7 year old Katherine Krueger shivered as she sat upright in bed hugging her teddy bear, her quilt wrapped tightly around her.  
She had been put to bed at 8:30 and was supposed to have been asleep hours ago but as hard as she tried sleep had not come . And so finally she had stopped trying.  
So she sat up and rocked herself back and forth way she had calmed herself ever since she could remember but she was frightened, so frightened and couldn't stop herself from looking around fearfully. It was so dark outside and a mighty wind was screeching , blowing, howling making the tree branches scrape the windows and throw eerie shadows across the walls.  
The news on the radio her Daddy had been listening to earlier said that a storm was supposed to come in the early morning hours and even though she knew thats what was behind the wind and the sounds, it didn't make her any less scared. Because Katherine was always scared now. Ever since the day her Mommy had went long had it been now?  
She tried to keep track at first, to hold on, to remember. But now the days had blurred all together and she didn't know.

Thats the way her Daddy wanted it,the sooner she forgot the better he told her over and over.

Her Daddy. Her stomach jumped at the thought of him.

She heard him now down below in the bowels of the house in his secret room, stirring the faint buzz of some kind of 'd probably be down there all night and Kat was glad for a break from facing him .  
For now as much as she had always loved her Daddy, she now feared him as well.

For so long now he'd been drilling her, questioning her, telling her what she'd better tell anyone and everyone about her Mommy and what she needed to believe.  
It seemed like he never let up and the pressure was so great that she almost started to believe what he told Mommy took off with another man. Leaving nothing but a note behind and had left Daddy and me all alone.  
The note had said that she was tired of married life, tired of being tied down, had married too young and that she hoped Daddy could manage raising me alone.  
It ended with a sorry and a Goodbye. Daddy had already shown the note to everyone.  
My Grandparents who argued loudly with Daddy and didn't seem to believe him and then the nice policeman Mr. Thompson from down the street and another man that had come a few hours later. Daddy reminded me each time before he opened the door with a scary look and low tone " Remember Katherine not a fucking word out of you , you got it!" and I quickly nodded my head.

The policemen had asked Daddy if they could have a quick look through the house and Daddy said ok.  
Mr. Thompson patted my shoulder and gave me a smile and wink as he went up the stairs and into Mommy and Daddy's bedroom. They found all of Mommy's clothes and jewelry gone except for her wedding rings she left beside the all seemed so simple, so much better than the truth.

I wanted to sink into the idea that Mommy was gone off somewhere "probably sunning herself on the beach with some shiftless son of a bitch" as I overheard Daddy tell Mr. Thompson when I was not supposed to be listening like I did when playacting out my favorite books and tv shows.

I wanted to believe .But like the time the film messed up last year when Mommy took me to the movies and had jumped back and forth over and over, my mind wouldn't stop replaying what I had saw happen to Mommy. Wouldn't let me forget.

It had been late on a Saturday afternoon.I was running in the back yard with my Daddy playing tag so happy to have 2 days off from school and to be with my Daddy- the person I loved best.  
He had promised me 2 days of fun , so much fun together for him and had started at lunchtime when he fixed me my favorite chocolate chip pancakes instead of the soup and sandwich Mommy usually insisted I eat for lunch.

Then it was outside where he read me a story , pushed me in my swing and now a game of tag . He had promised a trip to the ice cream shop tonight after dinner, just him and me. And tomorrow a trip to the zoo and then dinner after the movies and then a walk along the river at Sunset before we came home. "Just you and me Princess" he had grinned and I had thrown my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, so thrilled at what he had planned for us.  
And I flew over the grass hearing Daddy's warm laughter behind me as he chased me , always letting me outrun him on purpose when suddenly everything stopped. I turned and looked to see why he had stopped our game and saw Mommy coming up from the basement looking pale, trembling and with tears running down her cheeks.

What could be wrong?

Daddy was glaring at her , his eyes shining with a strange light as she came towards him.  
" I won't tell Fred. I swear, I won't tell." Mommy said as she walked up to Daddy and he reached out and grabbed her arms.

He turned quickly to me "Katherine, go in the house now and stay there." he said in his scary voice. He didn't use that voice with me often but when he did I knew he meant business so I quickly walked towards the open basement door.  
Taking a chance before I went in I looked back and Daddy was shaking Mommy saying" How dare you go in there? How dare you touch my things? You damn well know better !"

I hated when they fought so I went on down the stairs hoping as with the other times it would soon be over.  
After a fight, Daddy was always mad at Mommy and ignored her for a while but always came was always alright.  
Then I saw door to Daddy's private room was open. The one he had told us to keep out of and had told me to never to come around.  
He told me this to me lovingly but firmly one night after dinner. I wanted him to play with me but he got up and said he had work to do downstairs. I said I'd come with him but he said no he was too busy. I said I'd just sit there when he said I said no Katherine! in a loud voice. I was upset but he said me on his knee and explained that there things there very sharp and dangerous especially to little girls and that I could get hurt.  
He said someday maybe he'd let me in and show me all sorts of things when I was much older but not now. And I obeyed him but Mommy must have gotten in never liked this room, always said she didn't know why Daddy needed it and why he spent so much time there.

Well, maybe since it was open I could take a a peek. Daddy 'd never I crept inside.

At first I thought I was in a bad dream. Like the nightmares I had sometimes that I couldn't wake up from and I'd thrash around and scream and only Daddy could bring me out of them but this was daytime and what I saw was real.  
There was these .. gloves hanging from shelves with these big sharp claws like a bear. So many of them and on the walls pages from the newspaper about these missing kids from my class. Their names in big letters .I recognized them- Judy Jenkins, Jack Marshall, Cindy Williams, Sam Bahner, Mary Dalton and so many more. Their smiling faces stared out at me from the newsprint, blurring together.

NO, there had to be a mistake. These things shouldn't be here.I would go to Daddy. He could explain it all away . He would make everything all right.

Despite my Daddy's orders I bounded scared up the stairs and as I reached the doorway I heard Daddy yelling and ran out into the yard to see him chocking Mommy and slamming her head into the wall hard over and over again. I stood there frozen in fear until panting hard, Daddy threw Mommy on the ground and bent over with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

Mommy lay there, silent and still.  
I willed her to move , to cough to do something, to be alright.  
Nothing happened. "Mommy, Mommy!" I yelled in a panic and took off running towards her tears streaming down my sprung into action, grabbed me under one arm , clasp his hand over my mouth , hissed at me to shut the hell up and hurriedly grabbed a large black garbage sack from the shed, flung it over Mommy,weighed it down with a couple of big rocks at either end and walked as fast as he dared into the house.

Once in the basement he sat me down on the floor locked the door, lowered the blind and sat down beside me. I was crying from fright.I had never known fear like this before. I was afraid of the dark, of the monsters in an old movie on TV Daddy had let me watch when I woke up and went looking for him late one night, but nothing like this.

Daddy stroked my back and tried to calm me down."Shuhh Kat, stop crying. Everythings all right . Its alright." he said in the soothing voice of his that I'd always loved .  
"But,but Daddy you hurt Mommy and she's.. she's.. and I... " I could say no more and broke out into fresh heaving sobs.

"Yes, I did Mommy had to take her medicine for snooping into Daddy's special work.I warned her never to do that and she was very , very, very disobeyed me.  
You know, nothing was ever good enough for your Mother. I gave her it wasn't enough. She always wanted something more, something else...  
I slave away at work so she could stay home with you, always put food on the table and did my husbandly duty and she couldn't do the one thing I asked her to do. Stay out of my fuckin ' business!" Daddy exclaimed his face once again growing red.

I looked at him,too afraid to say anything.

"Yes Katherine,you need to listen to me and listen well. your Mothers gone for good. She is never coming . From now on, its just you and me Katherine. You will always have me.I will take good care of know I'd never hurt you Kat. I wouldn't have hurt your Mother either if she hadn't of been so very bad.  
You need to start forgetting her Katherine. Put her put of your mind. She never existed. Do you hear me? She 's long gone. You keep telling yourself that. And someday sooner than you think she will be a distant memory.  
And you'd better not ever,ever tell anyone what you saw or what happened today.  
If you do Katherine bad, bad things will happen to you."

"Strangers will come take you away from me 'll never let you see me again."

"They'll take you away and put you in big , cold, dark places called orphanages with other naughty little boys and girls or kids whose parents wanted rid of are bad places Sweetheart.  
Like jails for kids. You'll barely get enough to eat there, your bed will be old , lumpy and hard to sleep on, the other kids will hit you and tease you . They'll hate you, just like they did me.  
If you ever are lucky enough to get out of there, you'll go to something called a foster home.  
Or maybe a few of people there will hurt you 'll beat you, lock you up in the basement to freeze in the me Katherine. Your Daddy grew up in places just like those . I know what I'm talking about and I'd never lie to you.I've never lied to you."

"Now, you don't want to leave Daddy do you?"

"No" I tearfully shook my head.

"You don't want to end up in one of those places right?"

I shook my head again.

"Then Kat, you can never , ever tell." "Remember what I told you would happen. And besides you'd make your Father, VERY, VERY angry and you sure don't want that do you Princess?" he said his face growing dark, his voice growing tight and his green eyes boring into me as he squeezed my wrist painfully.

"Nooo Daddy never." I stammered.

" His face relaxed after a minute or two and he smiled at me.

"Good. Now lets go wash your face" he said lifting me to my feet and nudging me to the bathroom.

After that Daddy fixed me Dinner. A can of soup warmed up on the stove just like it was any other night in the world instead of the night he had killed Mommy.

Yes, I knew that Mommy was dead. Daddy told me she was gone, but he didn't have to say any more.  
I knew what death was. Had known ever since the last Summer when a car had hit the Jackson's dog and it had lain quiet and still just like Mommy did now.  
It was Mommy who had came to me then when I was crying in the yard , took me inside and explained to me about life and death and how animals and people went to Heaven. A beautiful Heaven.

I only hoped that Mommy was there now.

The night dragged on. Daddy insisted we watch TV on the couch like always and we did but Daddy was nervous. Every few minutes he got up to pace the room,peer out the blinds at the street and specially the window that looked into the back yard.  
Finally I fell asleep. Daddy nudged me awake and as I sat up I through blurry eyes I saw the clock over the TV said 12:30.  
" Come on Kat . Time for bed." Daddy said and he picked me up , carried me up the Stairs and tucked me in bed saying little. But when he left he locked the door behind him from the outside the way he did when I was forced to stay in my room as punishment.

Despite my tiredness, I laid awake listening the best I could.

I heard Daddy go into his and Mommy's bedroom and heard things being shuffled around and moved.

Daddy went up and down the stairs 3 or 4 times.

Then I heard him go around from door to door and the locks clicking just like he always did at night when we went to bed.

Sometime after that I heard a car in the street and jumped out of the window to see Daddy slowly driving our car away up the dark street.  
I watched him until he was gone, then crawled back into bed and laid there awake staring at my ceiling and thinking of Mommy.  
Although I was afraid that Daddy might come back and hear I couldn't stop from crying for her again. Then I fell asleep.

ENTER FREDDY- 5:30 AM:

Fred Krueger paced the upstairs hallway outside his daughters cigarette after cigarette, he stood staring down at vast dark expanse of Elm Street alone with his frantic thoughts.  
A few minutes ago, he had returned from the unpleasant task of disposing of Loretta's body.  
After putting Kat to bed finally, he walked around the house looking from every window checking to see if it was safe to spring into action keenly looking and listening.  
The houses of Elm Street were dark and silent and Freddy knew he had to act now.  
Quickly changing his clothes to a black t-shirt, black work pants,work boots and baseball cap, he eased out of the house into the backyard.  
Loretta of course was where he had left her and working as quietly and quickly as he could , he wrapped her up in several more garbage bags , dragged her across the dark yard to where the car was handily parked under the large Elm tree that boarded the street behind the house and lowered her into the back back across the yard he grabbed an old, navy blue blanket from the shed that Loretta used to cover her fresh canning with in the basement each Winter and covered her up.  
Oh ,but only half his work was done here.

Leaving the back door open, he ran up the stairs and grabbing boxes and empty shopping bags and any thing else he could find he started loading up Loretta's things and attempting to keep to the natural shadows the trees and night provided to load them into the car as well. The story that he was going to use to explain Loretta's disappearance had already taken shape in his had a plan.  
That meant everything had to go even her fucking perfume and makeup.

For a woman who was always complaining that the income he made at the plant after groceries and bills left her with very little for herself to buy the clothes, shoes and whatever else she wanted she sure had a lot of crap Freddy bitched to himself as he , he was finished and he locked every door in the house and checked them twice.  
Kat was sound asleep but he had to make sure that with what she had witnessed today that she wouldn't have a nightmare and go running out the door crying and yelling while he was doing what had to be done.

Kids could be so unpredictable. Thats why he had so much work ahead of him with Katherine to insure that Loretta's fate stayed a secret.

Freddy started the car and eased it as slowly as he could up the street until he had cleared the he turned the car towards his destination- the power plant. His heart pounding the whole time he took the back roads and made sure he stayed at the speed limit.  
Finally arriving his unlocked the gates and drove his car through.  
That was the best part of having worked here since the end of high school and never having had the drive and ambition to move up in the world and better his station in life" that Loretta's parents had often needled him about.  
He was trusted,he had access to any part of the complex day or night and didn't have to clear his coming and goings with anyone.  
Over the years Fred had proven to be a model employee , always willing to do the chores nobody else wanted to do or perform extra work for no had earned him the keys to what truly was his kingdom, the place that had always felt like home.  
And this would be his salvation now.  
As he drove along the grounds he knew exactly where he was headed.  
At the very back of the property abutting up against an empty, dusty lot there was an abandoned boiler had been built back in early 20's and declared unsafe about 5 years ago by the company inspectors from Cincinnati on one of their twice yearly visits.  
It would have taken too much money to bring it up to code and besides the power plant had expanded by leaps and bounds since those days and nobody needed this old facility with the massive boiler rooms that had been built in the plant in the last 20 years.  
For a long time , the company said ever so often they were going to tear it down but they never did and Freddy had claimed it as his own. Its where he went to do his "special work" and where he was going to have to make Loretta vanish forever now.  
He carried Loretta's shrouded body inside and placing her in the large furnace looked down and sighed. Even though killing and death and all its macabre aspects had become almost normal to him since he gave into the dark, rageful, hate filled urges he had fought for so long and embarked on his double life he had never planned to or wanted to hurt his wife.

Sure , Loretta often annoyed the fuck out of him with his constant clinging and questions and demands and yes, she consistently pissed him off with her refusal to accept what he felt her place in their marriage should be , but she still had her good points.  
She kept the house clean, the laundry done, the meals cooked, Kat fed, washed and dressed and everything in its place pretty much just the way he liked did most of what he wished her to do,even if he didn't always agree with how she wanted to raise Katherine.

And he had loved her once. For a long time. Even though the passionate love he had once felt for her had faded,he couldn't deny that he still felt a geniuene fondness for her.

And there were still times even now when in the quiet evenings he spent at home after Kat was in bed when they were in the living room- her with her sewing and knitting , he with his newspaper or with the tv on low when they talked about the parenting of Katherine, the bills or any of the other minutia that makes up even the most basic married life that he still enjoyed her company.  
He was even working on a definite plan to move the family to California when he thought the heat from his killings was getting to be too much.  
He looked again down at her covered form. "Oh Loretta, why did you have to do this? Why'd you have to snoop and pry? Why did you disobey me on the one thing I ever absolutely forbid you to do?  
If you had just obeyed me, just abided by my wishes, this would have never have could have went on together as a family.

Fred lamented and with a sigh fired up the furnace and as it started devouring the mortal coil of Loretta turned his had no desire to watch her final destruction.  
Disposing of the body and Loretta's belongings took hours.  
By the time he had finished , he drove back home as quickly as he dared and as he parked the car the same place he left it. Looking around, Elm Street seemed to be as much in slumber as he had left it but one could never be sure so he took nothing for granted , his observant eyes and keening ears looking for am movement and listening for any sound.

He had spent the remaining minutes of the pre dawn hours lost in thought and the next thing he knew the sun had risen and the house was beginning to fill with light. Looking at the clock he started down the stairs to start on Kat's breakfast.  
He wanted to get her up early had a hell of a lot of talking to do starting today.  
EXIT FREDDY

When I woke up the birds were singing and the sun was shining and Daddy was standing in my doorway looking at me.  
"Morning Princess" he said looking at me close. "Breakfast is ready. Come down now."

" Yes Daddy. I have to go to the bathroom first." he nodded and I heard him going back down the stairs.  
I waited a minute then crept as fast as I could down the hallway to Mommy and Daddy's room.  
The door to Mommy's closet was a little bit open so I looked inside . It was empty. All of Mommy's clothes and shoes were gone. Her housecoat was gone from the back of the door.

I looked into their bathroom. Even Mommy's shampoo and her special perfume she let me dab a little bit on sometimes were gone!

Like Daddy said, it was like Mommy hadn't ever existed and my eyes filled with tears .  
"Katherine, just whats taking you so long? Your eggs are getting cold." Daddy called up the stairs a note of impatience creeping into voice.  
"Coming Daddy" I called back and ran down the stairs. Daddy pulled out my chair and I dug into breakfast right away. My Father sat across from me and studied me closely as I ate.  
"Good, baby? " he asked as I finished and I nodded my head and tried to smile.

Not long after Dinner, he ordered me into the basement and pointed to the couch and told me to sit. Then it started. The pounding into me of what to say when people asked me about Mommy, how to say it. What to say and do if people asked me certain questions. What not to say. All of it said over and over, to be repeated back to him from me.

It went on and on like day long, over meals , even when he put me to bed at night.  
It all ran together and at times I almost forgot what really happened but there was one small part of her mind that stubbornly held on to the truth.

But I was when my Grandparents came, silent when the Police did, silent at the questions the neighbors asked my Father and through all the meals the consoling ladies of the neighborhood brought someone asked me a question about my Mother I just burst into tears and Father would say she was too upset to talk. I hadn't adjusted yet. I needed time.  
With all the pressure I was under from my Dad and the fear that was always there, I found it very easy to cry at those thats what my Father wanted. He was pleased with me although always wary and watchful.

Not long after the Police came-Marge- Mr. Thompson' s pretty wife showed up at the door one evening with a casserole and cherry pie she had made for them.

My Father thanked her shortly but invited her in.  
From the way he stood she could tell her Dad didn't like Marge never had.  
But I liked Marge's daughter. Little Nancy.  
Mommy had watched her sometimes for Marge when her other babysitter couldn't come.  
It was suppertime so Fred dished out the casserole to me and as I ate , I listened to the two adults talk.

"Fred, I'm just so sorry about this." Marge said putting her hand on Fred's shoulder consolingly.  
"Yeah me too." he replied looking away.  
"I just can't figure Marge out. This is so unlike her. She was so devoted to you and Kat. She's not the kind of woman to do something like this. I don't doesn't make sense" Marge puzzled.

Fred took a deep breath and tried to quell his anger over the woman's prying. Why did people have to be so damn nosy in this neighborhood? He had put out a perfectly plausible story so why wouldn't they leave him the fuck alone?  
Men's wives leaving them was becoming more common.  
You heard about it more often because it didn't happen in this little shithole town Springwood all the time didn't mean it didn't elsewhere or couldn't here. Shit! He was sick of this! Their endless questions, their searching looks, their prying eyes.  
This had better let up soon or he'd leave. Just grab Kat and take off. Change their names, go to another state without a word to was his eventual plan anyway. But it had to be played out just right. He had to let some time go by. At least 6 months, maybe a little longer to avoid looking suspicious. But if people didn't stop this prying soon he was gonna do it now , just as soon as he could.

"And you haven't heard from Loretta? NO contact at all?" Marge was asking.  
" No" he simply said shrugging his shoulders.

"Do you think you will?" She asked.  
His hands tightened into fists behind his back." I doubt it with the way she left too busy screwing her new boyfriend." he said and Marge gave a shocked glance to Kat at the table.

"Um, I guess you'll be going back to work soon. I know you've been out for a few weeks."

"Well, yeah. I had to try to help Kat adjust but I'll have to return to work next made of money you know." he said resentfully.

Marge sensed that she had overstayed her welcome and made her exit.

"Well, I've got to get back. Time to fix Dinner. Please, if theres anything we can do for you and Kat, let us know. Don and I would be happy to." Marge told Freddy as she left.

"Yes, Thank you and thank you a lot for the food. We appreciate it ." he smiled managing to muster up one last bit of charming politeness as Marge left shutting the door behind her.  
He smiled with great relief as he watched her walk back down the street through the blinds and Kat heard him mutter" nosy bitch" under his breath as he walked to the counter to cut her a piece of the pie for dessert.

The next little while passed as the last few weeks had gotten a call from his boss to come back to work next Monday if he wanted to keep his job . Daddy found himself with a real problem or so he said as he paced the living room at night talking to himself quietly as I watched had to go back to work, there was no choice. He had spent his savings while he had been off and he had to have money for us to live on now and so we could leave here later.

He had no family to watch me, sure as hell didn't trust anybody from the town to do it and couldn't leave me alone.  
Finally,he found a saw an ad a teenage girl from the next town over had put in the paper offering her babysitting and house cleaning services.  
Daddy called her on the phone and since our house was kinda close to the next town's border she agreed if Daddy would pay her the extra gas money she would need.  
Daddy grumbled but said ok.  
So not long before the sun set on Monday ,Betty came over to watch waited for her approach in the doorway with his arms folded.

He had a long list of instructions to give her. No. 1 was that I wasn't to go outside much or leave the yard alone , I wasn't to answer the phone and I wasn't to talk much to any neighbors I might saw.

Daddy said" My little girls been through a lot with the way her Mom just vanished from our lives and the people here are way too 's already had enough of their questions and gossip. She doesn't need to hear no more of it." If they come along I want you to say she has to go, move her along, take her back in the house , make up an excuse. Do you understand Betty?

I could tell by the look on her face that Betty thought it was weird, but she nodded and said " Sure, Mr. Krueger. Whatever you say."

Daddy picked up his lunchbox and put on his brown hat and as he went out the door, he petted me on the head and said" I'll be back from work as soon as my shift ends you be a good know what I mean." he said his eyes boring into me as he left.

Things went on ok for a little wasn't a bad babysitter. We mainly stayed in the house and she made me simple meals and I watched tv , played with my toys and read my storybooks.

She took me out to the backyard for about an hour before dark and let me play while she sat on the grass and read her romance novels.  
Then one day around noon when Daddy was asleep on the couch where he had collapsed after coming home from his shift and I was playing a board game by myself, the phone rang and Daddy sprang to answer it. It was his work. There was an emergency at the plant and he was needed . No getting out of slammed down the phone and ran around cursing as he got dressed. He frantically called Betty who told him she'd have to cancel a Dr.s appointment to come now and would have to charge him double. Daddy steamed fine and slammed the phone down again.  
Finally ready to go, he told me that Betty would be here in an hour , that He was locking the door behind him and I was to stay in the house and quietly wait for her to arrive.  
With a warning to me that I'd better behave, he left quickly.

Betty arrived later and we sat in the living room.

At 5 PM she looked at the clock said it was time for her to start my Supper and she went into the Betty worked and listened to the radio to pass the time she reflected on her new job and circumstances.  
She had been babysitting for some years now ever since she was 14 and Kat was a joy to look after. Calm and quiet she tended to do what she was told and seemed to spend much of her time wrapped up in her own little was nothing like so many of the little nightmares that Betty had cared for in her other babysitting jobs.  
The pay was decent and having her gas money covered was extra fact this was one of the best jobs that Betty had ever was one one thing she could find fault with in this gig- her boss Mr. Krueger.  
He was a handsome guy and was outwardly pleasant but there was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on that she found deeply unnerving.  
And there was all the weird restrictions he put on Kat. She had never encountered that in a job before.  
She supposed that he was somehow doing it for Kat's own good since she naturally was so affected by her Mothers' leaving her and Kat certainly didn't seem to be abused in any way but there was still something about it that stuck in Betty's craw all the same.

Then the doorbell rang and Betty startled, hastened to answer opened the door to a man in A khaki uniform who holding up a badge identified himself as Lt. Donald Thompson, Springwood Police.

"Good evening Miss. I need to speak with Kathryn Krueger please." he stated. Betty looked nervously at Kat sitting on the floor drawing with her crayons.  
"Um, can I ask why?" Betty stammered.

No. This is confidential police business." Donald was firm.

"Well, I don't think so. You see I've got strict orders from her Father that she's not to see or talk to anyone while I'm watching her and I have to abide by his orders. Maybe you could come back when he's here but I just can't let you see her now. Ok?" Betty's heart was racing in fear. She couldn't believe she was saying this to the police!

"No, not young lady, I have every right to question Katherine at this time.I live right up the street. I can have her back in no time, but I either talk to her now or you and she will both be coming downtown and I'll have to charge you with attempting to impede an active investigation. You wouldn't want that would you?"

Betty vigiriously shook her head no."Alright then.I'll return her to your charge in a short while." "Come with me Katherine right now." he said and gently taking Kat by the arm steered her out the door.

Betty paced the floor in panic for several . Krueger would be furious and at her!  
What could she do? How was she going to handle this?  
Finally after what seemed like hours of debating within herself, she decided the only thing to do was to place an urgent call to him at she wasn't supposed to do except in cases of emergency but in Betty's mind this qualified.  
Hopefully, then his wrath wouldn't fall on her head as surely he would see that under the circumstances she had done the only thing she could do?  
After several more minutes, she worked her up courage and slowly walked to the phone.

As they walked the short distance down the street to his house Donald looked down at the fearful child could feel her trembling as she held his hand. He knew the kid had been through a lot and he hated to put her through more but he had no choice but to question her.  
He had been hoping for weeks to get a chance.  
Fred kept her locked up most of the time and never left her side the couple times that Donald had been to the house to talk with him since Loretta's had told him that Fred had went back to work and hired a babysitter but although Donald kept out a watchful eye , he never saw the two of them outside.  
Today, Donald had forgotten of all things his gun and coming back home for a quick trip to retrieve it saw Krueger leave in a hurry alone.  
Donald waited a good 45 minutes, just looking out the window but when Krueger didn't return something inside him told him the time was now,that this might be his only opportunity.  
Calling into work he told them that he was following a lead and wouldn't be back in for a while.  
He was a good enough detective that his superiors and fellow officers tended to trust his word on such things.  
With no time to waste ,he set off up the street .

From almost the beginning , Fred Krueger's story about his wife Loretta running off with another guy hadn't rung true for Donald or his wife Marge and they had discussed it extensively.  
They had known Loretta for many years now ever since they had moved into the neighborhood as newlyweds. One of the first people to greet them had been the fellow newly wedded , and as she had laughingly informed them newly pregnant Loretta Krueger.  
Donald who remembered Fred Kruger well from their school days remembered being slightly surprised that Freddy had married such a retiring,slightly shy , all American girl but the years had went on and both couples seemed to do well.  
It was Marge that had , had the most contact with Loretta of had maintained a very friendly neighborly relationship sometimes having a cup of coffee or dessert and taking care of each others kids when one was in a bind.  
When Loretta's parents had come to the police station to report their daughter missing,Fred and Marge were instantly alarmed.  
Their concern only grew when after Donald went to talk to Fred and he had given them his"My wife left me sob story" complete with note.  
That sure didn't sound like the Loretta they knew.  
For one thing she was utterly devoted to her daughter and they couldn't believe that she would leave her behind or not make some sort of arrangements about seeing her.  
And as Marge pointed out , Loretta was a salt of the earth type some flirty , restless neighborhood vamp.  
All that combined with the desperate pleadings of Loretta's parents and Donald knew something was very wrong.  
The problem was is that if there had been foul play as Donald feared , Fred had covered his tracks far too well.  
You certainly couldn't arrest or charge a man on nothing more than your suspicions which was all that Donald had right now despite a lot of digging on his part.

No, he believed that in unlocking the mystery of what had happened to her Mother, little Katherine held the key.  
And he had to do whatever he could within reason to get the truth from her.

He led Kat into the house and directing her to sit down ,had Marge bring her a soda.  
"Now Katherine, I'm sure you know why I brought you here today right? Why I need to talk to you?" Katherine nodded .

"I need to talk to you about your Mommy Kat. Do you know what happened to her?"  
Kat nodded her head." Yes, she left us forever and she's not coming left with another man."

"And have you heard from her?" Kat shook her head no.  
"Then how do you know this Kat? Did you see her life or did she tell you she was leaving?"  
Kat shook her head no again.

"Then you only know this because your Daddy told you right?"

"Yes, but my Daddy doesn't lie." Kat fired back at him very defensively for such a young child.  
And so on and on went the questioning for 20 minutes until Donald sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration.  
This wasn't going to be an easy kid to break. Krueger had her trained very well.  
He was going to have to take a different approach.  
After gathering his wits for a few minutes Donald leaned in closer towards Kat and said softly "Katherine, you know your Mother loved you very much right? I mean you were her pride and joy. All she ever talked about. Do you realize this Katherine?"

Kat nodded yes while attempting to bat back the first hint of tears trying to form behind her eyes.

"Now Kat when someone loves someone else that much, its a special kind of Mom would have done anything for you Katherine. If someone had hurt you, she'd have went to the ends of the earth to protect you or try to make it right. She'd have never given up on that or you.  
Because she loved you that much. Do you love your Mother Katherine?"

Kat hurriedly nodded yes.

"Well then Kat if someone hurt your dear Mother and you know something about it, you have a duty to her to tell what you don't then you are letting down your Mommy in the worst way .  
You are betraying her Katherine, turning your back on her down. I know you know what happened won't you tell me? For your poor Momma's sake?"

Katherine was shaking violently in her chair and fighting a battle inside herself. What Mr. Thompson was saying kept echoing as her Mothers final moments flashed and pounded in her fevered mind.

Finally , it was as if everything she had been keeping contained these last few weeks burst out and in a sobbing scream she burst out with the truth" Yes, Yes Daddy killed Mommy. She looked in his secret room and he got so he didn't mean to! He didn't, he didn't! I swear!" and convulsed with sobs.

Donald and Marge shared a quick look of knowing triumph and Marge moved quickly to take hysterical child into her arms and rock her back and forth while Donald got up and grimly went to the telephone in the other room to make the arrangements for Krueger's arrest and Kat's entry into foster care.  
She needed a safe place to go quickly and the sooner Fred was behind bars the better as far as Donald was concerned.

Meanwhile , Betty was frantically running out of 1428 Elm.  
Throwing her purse haphazardly into the front seat she backed out of the driveway and turning her car towards the other end of the street, burned rubber out of Springwood.  
The sheer rage that Mr. Krueger had unleashed on her over the phone had left her shaken to the core. She hadn't had the easiest life but had never experienced such fury directed at her before.  
He had informed her that he was coming home right away to " deal with this bullshit and heads are going to fuckin roll" and slammed down the phone.  
Betty didn't know for certain if that meant that he intended to do any dealing with her but she wasn't going to take a chance to find out.

As he always paid her in weekly installments he owed her a weeks pay but that was 'd gladly let it go.  
It was a small price to pay in exchange for getting out of this situation unscathed.  
Betty hoped with all her heart that little Katherine would be alright, but hoping seemed to be about all she could do.  
And with that though, she tried to settle her jangled nerves as left the Springwood town limits and its charming , brand new sign extolling its virtues for raising a family and hoped to put this whole thing behind her.

Within less than 30 minutes a sense of mini panic had descended over the neighborhood. Police cars were parked on the street near the Kruger house and the cops that came with them were discussing leaving shortly to go arrest Fred at the power plant.  
The social workers were just arriving in a dark blue sedan to take Katherine away to the Springwood children's home until other arrangements could be made for her.  
This is precisely the scene that Freddy ran into when he zoomed into his street towards his house.  
Freddy cursed to himself as he saw the police cards but as he stepped out of the car he vowed to keep his there was still a way out of this. After all they'd never find a trace of Loretta now and he had trained Kat very well. Taking a deep breath he faced Donald Thompson as he approached him.  
"Donald, whats going on? " he asked trying to look bewildered.  
"Whats going on Fred is that you are under arrest for the murder of your wife Loretta Kruger. You can ask for a lawyer once we get downtown .Now put your hands behind your back and turn around." Donald ordered matter of factly.

"What? No, no. Wheres Kat? Katherine, Katherine!" Fred yelled out looking around Wildly.

"Fred, Katherine is alright. Besides I think you have other things to worry about right now." Donald said sarcastically.  
Just then, the car carrying little Katherine away drove had been tearfully looking out the window and when she saw her Father she screamed "Daddy, Daddy"! and tried to climb out the window.  
Fred saw this and his heart sank. They'd done it. Despite all his vigilance and effort they'd gotten to his little girl. They'd turned her against him. And now they were taking her away from him.

Freddy violently shrugged off the officers trying to contact him and sprinted after the car."No, no Katherine!No,don't take her! Don't take my baby! Katherine!"  
Kat wriggled into the back seat and crying hysterically the last thing she saw was her Father being wrested to the ground by police officers as the car turned the corner and Elm Street faded from view.  
Kat cried bitterly for hours long after arriving at the children's home. What had she done? How could she have become of the weak people her Daddy hated and always warned her against? Her Mommy was gone and now she had betrayed her beloved Daddy. She knew she had. Oh why had she done it? Why hadn't she been stronger? Been more able to hold up against Mr. Thompson's questions like her Daddy had taught and asked her to do?  
Now she'd probably never see him again and who knew what would happen to him?  
He was all she 's hysterical sobs lasted well into the night and finally at 11 PM after many attempts to comfort her, the weary staff at the home gave up and put her under deep sedation.  
They knew this was a child who would have many challenges and a long road ahead but they'd done all they could tonight. They'd deal with her tomorrow. After all, tomorrow was a new day.

Donald Thompson stepped over the threshold of Freddy's home prepared to begin carrying out the search warrant that had just come down from the judge.  
It had been a bitch of a day.  
Fred had not went quietly or had taken 4 of his men to take Krueger down and get him into the car for the ride to the jail.  
Finding out that his neighbor really had killed his wife even though he had suspected him all along wasn't fun either.

What he really hoped now was to determine if Loretta 's body was somewhere on the premises. They were already putting lights out in the backyard and bringing in the cadaver dogs in case they got a hit.  
Donald was flush with tiredness but had much ahead to do. They'd likely be here all night.  
"Ok Krueger, Let's see whats in your hiding place." Donald muttered as he pulled on his plastic gloves and went in search of Freddy's "secret room".  
What he would find there would send shockwaves through a town, start a legend and would bring into being a real life dream demon whose reign would be eternal.

THE END!

Mid July 1968 1428 Elm Street 12:35 AM

7 year old Katherine Krueger shivered as she sat upright in bed hugging her teddy bear, her quilt wrapped tightly around her.  
She had been put to bed at 8:30 and was supposed to have been asleep hours ago but as hard as she tried sleep had not come . And so finally she had stopped trying.  
So she sat up and rocked herself back and forth way she had calmed herself ever since she could remember but she was frightened, so frightened and couldn't stop herself from looking around fearfully. It was so dark outside and a mighty wind was screeching , blowing, howling making the tree branches scrape the windows and throw eerie shadows across the walls.  
The news on the radio her Daddy had been listening to earlier said that a storm was supposed to come in the early morning hours and even though she knew thats what was behind the wind and the sounds, it didn't make her any less scared. Because Katherine was always scared now. Ever since the day her Mommy had went long had it been now?  
She tried to keep track at first, to hold on, to remember. But now the days had blurred all together and she didn't know.

Thats the way her Daddy wanted it,the sooner she forgot the better he told her over and over.

Her Daddy. Her stomach jumped at the thought of him.

She heard him now down below in the bowels of the house in his secret room, stirring the faint buzz of some kind of 'd probably be down there all night and Kat was glad for a break from facing him .  
For now as much as she had always loved her Daddy, she now feared him as well.

For so long now he'd been drilling her, questioning her, telling her what she'd better tell anyone and everyone about her Mommy and what she needed to believe.  
It seemed like he never let up and the pressure was so great that she almost started to believe what he told Mommy took off with another man. Leaving nothing but a note behind and had left Daddy and me all alone.  
The note had said that she was tired of married life, tired of being tied down, had married too young and that she hoped Daddy could manage raising me alone.  
It ended with a sorry and a Goodbye. Daddy had already shown the note to everyone.  
My Grandparents who argued loudly with Daddy and didn't seem to believe him and then the nice policeman Mr. Thompson from down the street and another man that had come a few hours later. Daddy reminded me each time before he opened the door with a scary look and low tone " Remember Katherine not a fucking word out of you , you got it!" and I quickly nodded my head.

The policemen had asked Daddy if they could have a quick look through the house and Daddy said ok.  
Mr. Thompson patted my shoulder and gave me a smile and wink as he went up the stairs and into Mommy and Daddy's bedroom. They found all of Mommy's clothes and jewelry gone except for her wedding rings she left beside the all seemed so simple, so much better than the truth.

I wanted to sink into the idea that Mommy was gone off somewhere "probably sunning herself on the beach with some shiftless son of a bitch" as I overheard Daddy tell Mr. Thompson when I was not supposed to be listening like I did when playacting out my favorite books and tv shows.

I wanted to believe .But like the time the film messed up last year when Mommy took me to the movies and had jumped back and forth over and over, my mind wouldn't stop replaying what I had saw happen to Mommy. Wouldn't let me forget.

It had been late on a Saturday afternoon.I was running in the back yard with my Daddy playing tag so happy to have 2 days off from school and to be with my Daddy- the person I loved best.  
He had promised me 2 days of fun , so much fun together for him and had started at lunchtime when he fixed me my favorite chocolate chip pancakes instead of the soup and sandwich Mommy usually insisted I eat for lunch.

Then it was outside where he read me a story , pushed me in my swing and now a game of tag . He had promised a trip to the ice cream shop tonight after dinner, just him and me. And tomorrow a trip to the zoo and then dinner after the movies and then a walk along the river at Sunset before we came home. "Just you and me Princess" he had grinned and I had thrown my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, so thrilled at what he had planned for us.  
And I flew over the grass hearing Daddy's warm laughter behind me as he chased me , always letting me outrun him on purpose when suddenly everything stopped. I turned and looked to see why he had stopped our game and saw Mommy coming up from the basement looking pale, trembling and with tears running down her cheeks.

What could be wrong?

Daddy was glaring at her , his eyes shining with a strange light as she came towards him.  
" I won't tell Fred. I swear, I won't tell." Mommy said as she walked up to Daddy and he reached out and grabbed her arms.

He turned quickly to me "Katherine, go in the house now and stay there." he said in his scary voice. He didn't use that voice with me often but when he did I knew he meant business so I quickly walked towards the open basement door.  
Taking a chance before I went in I looked back and Daddy was shaking Mommy saying" How dare you go in there? How dare you touch my things? You damn well know better !"

I hated when they fought so I went on down the stairs hoping as with the other times it would soon be over.  
After a fight, Daddy was always mad at Mommy and ignored her for a while but always came was always alright.  
Then I saw door to Daddy's private room was open. The one he had told us to keep out of and had told me to never to come around.  
He told me this to me lovingly but firmly one night after dinner. I wanted him to play with me but he got up and said he had work to do downstairs. I said I'd come with him but he said no he was too busy. I said I'd just sit there when he said I said no Katherine! in a loud voice. I was upset but he said me on his knee and explained that there things there very sharp and dangerous especially to little girls and that I could get hurt.  
He said someday maybe he'd let me in and show me all sorts of things when I was much older but not now. And I obeyed him but Mommy must have gotten in never liked this room, always said she didn't know why Daddy needed it and why he spent so much time there.

Well, maybe since it was open I could take a a peek. Daddy 'd never I crept inside.

At first I thought I was in a bad dream. Like the nightmares I had sometimes that I couldn't wake up from and I'd thrash around and scream and only Daddy could bring me out of them but this was daytime and what I saw was real.  
There was these .. gloves hanging from shelves with these big sharp claws like a bear. So many of them and on the walls pages from the newspaper about these missing kids from my class. Their names in big letters .I recognized them- Judy Jenkins, Jack Marshall, Cindy Williams, Sam Bahner, Mary Dalton and so many more. Their smiling faces stared out at me from the newsprint, blurring together.

NO, there had to be a mistake. These things shouldn't be here.I would go to Daddy. He could explain it all away . He would make everything all right.

Despite my Daddy's orders I bounded scared up the stairs and as I reached the doorway I heard Daddy yelling and ran out into the yard to see him chocking Mommy and slamming her head into the wall hard over and over again. I stood there frozen in fear until panting hard, Daddy threw Mommy on the ground and bent over with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

Mommy lay there, silent and still.  
I willed her to move , to cough to do something, to be alright.  
Nothing happened. "Mommy, Mommy!" I yelled in a panic and took off running towards her tears streaming down my sprung into action, grabbed me under one arm , clasp his hand over my mouth , hissed at me to shut the hell up and hurriedly grabbed a large black garbage sack from the shed, flung it over Mommy,weighed it down with a couple of big rocks at either end and walked as fast as he dared into the house.

Once in the basement he sat me down on the floor locked the door, lowered the blind and sat down beside me. I was crying from fright.I had never known fear like this before. I was afraid of the dark, of the monsters in an old movie on TV Daddy had let me watch when I woke up and went looking for him late one night, but nothing like this.

Daddy stroked my back and tried to calm me down."Shuhh Kat, stop crying. Everythings all right . Its alright." he said in the soothing voice of his that I'd always loved .  
"But,but Daddy you hurt Mommy and she's.. she's.. and I... " I could say no more and broke out into fresh heaving sobs.

"Yes, I did Mommy had to take her medicine for snooping into Daddy's special work.I warned her never to do that and she was very , very, very disobeyed me.  
You know, nothing was ever good enough for your Mother. I gave her it wasn't enough. She always wanted something more, something else...  
I slave away at work so she could stay home with you, always put food on the table and did my husbandly duty and she couldn't do the one thing I asked her to do. Stay out of my fuckin ' business!" Daddy exclaimed his face once again growing red.

I looked at him,too afraid to say anything.

"Yes Katherine,you need to listen to me and listen well. your Mothers gone for good. She is never coming . From now on, its just you and me Katherine. You will always have me.I will take good care of know I'd never hurt you Kat. I wouldn't have hurt your Mother either if she hadn't of been so very bad.  
You need to start forgetting her Katherine. Put her put of your mind. She never existed. Do you hear me? She 's long gone. You keep telling yourself that. And someday sooner than you think she will be a distant memory.  
And you'd better not ever,ever tell anyone what you saw or what happened today.  
If you do Katherine bad, bad things will happen to you."

"Strangers will come take you away from me 'll never let you see me again."

"They'll take you away and put you in big , cold, dark places called orphanages with other naughty little boys and girls or kids whose parents wanted rid of are bad places Sweetheart.  
Like jails for kids. You'll barely get enough to eat there, your bed will be old , lumpy and hard to sleep on, the other kids will hit you and tease you . They'll hate you, just like they did me.  
If you ever are lucky enough to get out of there, you'll go to something called a foster home.  
Or maybe a few of people there will hurt you 'll beat you, lock you up in the basement to freeze in the me Katherine. Your Daddy grew up in places just like those . I know what I'm talking about and I'd never lie to you.I've never lied to you."

"Now, you don't want to leave Daddy do you?"

"No" I tearfully shook my head.

"You don't want to end up in one of those places right?"

I shook my head again.

"Then Kat, you can never , ever tell." "Remember what I told you would happen. And besides you'd make your Father, VERY, VERY angry and you sure don't want that do you Princess?" he said his face growing dark, his voice growing tight and his green eyes boring into me as he squeezed my wrist painfully.

"Nooo Daddy never." I stammered.

" His face relaxed after a minute or two and he smiled at me.

"Good. Now lets go wash your face" he said lifting me to my feet and nudging me to the bathroom.

After that Daddy fixed me Dinner. A can of soup warmed up on the stove just like it was any other night in the world instead of the night he had killed Mommy.

Yes, I knew that Mommy was dead. Daddy told me she was gone, but he didn't have to say any more.  
I knew what death was. Had known ever since the last Summer when a car had hit the Jackson's dog and it had lain quiet and still just like Mommy did now.  
It was Mommy who had came to me then when I was crying in the yard , took me inside and explained to me about life and death and how animals and people went to Heaven. A beautiful Heaven.

I only hoped that Mommy was there now.

The night dragged on. Daddy insisted we watch TV on the couch like always and we did but Daddy was nervous. Every few minutes he got up to pace the room,peer out the blinds at the street and specially the window that looked into the back yard.  
Finally I fell asleep. Daddy nudged me awake and as I sat up I through blurry eyes I saw the clock over the TV said 12:30.  
" Come on Kat . Time for bed." Daddy said and he picked me up , carried me up the Stairs and tucked me in bed saying little. But when he left he locked the door behind him from the outside the way he did when I was forced to stay in my room as punishment.

Despite my tiredness, I laid awake listening the best I could.

I heard Daddy go into his and Mommy's bedroom and heard things being shuffled around and moved.

Daddy went up and down the stairs 3 or 4 times.

Then I heard him go around from door to door and the locks clicking just like he always did at night when we went to bed.

Sometime after that I heard a car in the street and jumped out of the window to see Daddy slowly driving our car away up the dark street.  
I watched him until he was gone, then crawled back into bed and laid there awake staring at my ceiling and thinking of Mommy.  
Although I was afraid that Daddy might come back and hear I couldn't stop from crying for her again. Then I fell asleep.

ENTER FREDDY- 5:30 AM:

Fred Krueger paced the upstairs hallway outside his daughters cigarette after cigarette, he stood staring down at vast dark expanse of Elm Street alone with his frantic thoughts.  
A few minutes ago, he had returned from the unpleasant task of disposing of Loretta's body.  
After putting Kat to bed finally, he walked around the house looking from every window checking to see if it was safe to spring into action keenly looking and listening.  
The houses of Elm Street were dark and silent and Freddy knew he had to act now.  
Quickly changing his clothes to a black t-shirt, black work pants,work boots and baseball cap, he eased out of the house into the backyard.  
Loretta of course was where he had left her and working as quietly and quickly as he could , he wrapped her up in several more garbage bags , dragged her across the dark yard to where the car was handily parked under the large Elm tree that boarded the street behind the house and lowered her into the back back across the yard he grabbed an old, navy blue blanket from the shed that Loretta used to cover her fresh canning with in the basement each Winter and covered her up.  
Oh ,but only half his work was done here.

Leaving the back door open, he ran up the stairs and grabbing boxes and empty shopping bags and any thing else he could find he started loading up Loretta's things and attempting to keep to the natural shadows the trees and night provided to load them into the car as well. The story that he was going to use to explain Loretta's disappearance had already taken shape in his had a plan.  
That meant everything had to go even her fucking perfume and makeup.

For a woman who was always complaining that the income he made at the plant after groceries and bills left her with very little for herself to buy the clothes, shoes and whatever else she wanted she sure had a lot of crap Freddy bitched to himself as he , he was finished and he locked every door in the house and checked them twice.  
Kat was sound asleep but he had to make sure that with what she had witnessed today that she wouldn't have a nightmare and go running out the door crying and yelling while he was doing what had to be done.

Kids could be so unpredictable. Thats why he had so much work ahead of him with Katherine to insure that Loretta's fate stayed a secret.

Freddy started the car and eased it as slowly as he could up the street until he had cleared the he turned the car towards his destination- the power plant. His heart pounding the whole time he took the back roads and made sure he stayed at the speed limit.  
Finally arriving his unlocked the gates and drove his car through.  
That was the best part of having worked here since the end of high school and never having had the drive and ambition to move up in the world and better his station in life" that Loretta's parents had often needled him about.  
He was trusted,he had access to any part of the complex day or night and didn't have to clear his coming and goings with anyone.  
Over the years Fred had proven to be a model employee , always willing to do the chores nobody else wanted to do or perform extra work for no had earned him the keys to what truly was his kingdom, the place that had always felt like home.  
And this would be his salvation now.  
As he drove along the grounds he knew exactly where he was headed.  
At the very back of the property abutting up against an empty, dusty lot there was an abandoned boiler had been built back in early 20's and declared unsafe about 5 years ago by the company inspectors from Cincinnati on one of their twice yearly visits.  
It would have taken too much money to bring it up to code and besides the power plant had expanded by leaps and bounds since those days and nobody needed this old facility with the massive boiler rooms that had been built in the plant in the last 20 years.  
For a long time , the company said ever so often they were going to tear it down but they never did and Freddy had claimed it as his own. Its where he went to do his "special work" and where he was going to have to make Loretta vanish forever now.  
He carried Loretta's shrouded body inside and placing her in the large furnace looked down and sighed. Even though killing and death and all its macabre aspects had become almost normal to him since he gave into the dark, rageful, hate filled urges he had fought for so long and embarked on his double life he had never planned to or wanted to hurt his wife.

Sure , Loretta often annoyed the fuck out of him with his constant clinging and questions and demands and yes, she consistently pissed him off with her refusal to accept what he felt her place in their marriage should be , but she still had her good points.  
She kept the house clean, the laundry done, the meals cooked, Kat fed, washed and dressed and everything in its place pretty much just the way he liked did most of what he wished her to do,even if he didn't always agree with how she wanted to raise Katherine.

And he had loved her once. For a long time. Even though the passionate love he had once felt for her had faded,he couldn't deny that he still felt a geniuene fondness for her.

And there were still times even now when in the quiet evenings he spent at home after Kat was in bed when they were in the living room- her with her sewing and knitting , he with his newspaper or with the tv on low when they talked about the parenting of Katherine, the bills or any of the other minutia that makes up even the most basic married life that he still enjoyed her company.  
He was even working on a definite plan to move the family to California when he thought the heat from his killings was getting to be too much.  
He looked again down at her covered form. "Oh Loretta, why did you have to do this? Why'd you have to snoop and pry? Why did you disobey me on the one thing I ever absolutely forbid you to do?  
If you had just obeyed me, just abided by my wishes, this would have never have could have went on together as a family.

Fred lamented and with a sigh fired up the furnace and as it started devouring the mortal coil of Loretta turned his had no desire to watch her final destruction.  
Disposing of the body and Loretta's belongings took hours.  
By the time he had finished , he drove back home as quickly as he dared and as he parked the car the same place he left it. Looking around, Elm Street seemed to be as much in slumber as he had left it but one could never be sure so he took nothing for granted , his observant eyes and keening ears looking for am movement and listening for any sound.

He had spent the remaining minutes of the pre dawn hours lost in thought and the next thing he knew the sun had risen and the house was beginning to fill with light. Looking at the clock he started down the stairs to start on Kat's breakfast.  
He wanted to get her up early had a hell of a lot of talking to do starting today.  
EXIT FREDDY

When I woke up the birds were singing and the sun was shining and Daddy was standing in my doorway looking at me.  
"Morning Princess" he said looking at me close. "Breakfast is ready. Come down now."

" Yes Daddy. I have to go to the bathroom first." he nodded and I heard him going back down the stairs.  
I waited a minute then crept as fast as I could down the hallway to Mommy and Daddy's room.  
The door to Mommy's closet was a little bit open so I looked inside . It was empty. All of Mommy's clothes and shoes were gone. Her housecoat was gone from the back of the door.

I looked into their bathroom. Even Mommy's shampoo and her special perfume she let me dab a little bit on sometimes were gone!

Like Daddy said, it was like Mommy hadn't ever existed and my eyes filled with tears .  
"Katherine, just whats taking you so long? Your eggs are getting cold." Daddy called up the stairs a note of impatience creeping into voice.  
"Coming Daddy" I called back and ran down the stairs. Daddy pulled out my chair and I dug into breakfast right away. My Father sat across from me and studied me closely as I ate.  
"Good, baby? " he asked as I finished and I nodded my head and tried to smile.

Not long after Dinner, he ordered me into the basement and pointed to the couch and told me to sit. Then it started. The pounding into me of what to say when people asked me about Mommy, how to say it. What to say and do if people asked me certain questions. What not to say. All of it said over and over, to be repeated back to him from me.

It went on and on like day long, over meals , even when he put me to bed at night.  
It all ran together and at times I almost forgot what really happened but there was one small part of her mind that stubbornly held on to the truth.

But I was when my Grandparents came, silent when the Police did, silent at the questions the neighbors asked my Father and through all the meals the consoling ladies of the neighborhood brought someone asked me a question about my Mother I just burst into tears and Father would say she was too upset to talk. I hadn't adjusted yet. I needed time.  
With all the pressure I was under from my Dad and the fear that was always there, I found it very easy to cry at those thats what my Father wanted. He was pleased with me although always wary and watchful.

Not long after the Police came-Marge- Mr. Thompson' s pretty wife showed up at the door one evening with a casserole and cherry pie she had made for them.

My Father thanked her shortly but invited her in.  
From the way he stood she could tell her Dad didn't like Marge never had.  
But I liked Marge's daughter. Little Nancy.  
Mommy had watched her sometimes for Marge when her other babysitter couldn't come.  
It was suppertime so Fred dished out the casserole to me and as I ate , I listened to the two adults talk.

"Fred, I'm just so sorry about this." Marge said putting her hand on Fred's shoulder consolingly.  
"Yeah me too." he replied looking away.  
"I just can't figure Marge out. This is so unlike her. She was so devoted to you and Kat. She's not the kind of woman to do something like this. I don't doesn't make sense" Marge puzzled.

Fred took a deep breath and tried to quell his anger over the woman's prying. Why did people have to be so damn nosy in this neighborhood? He had put out a perfectly plausible story so why wouldn't they leave him the fuck alone?  
Men's wives leaving them was becoming more common.  
You heard about it more often because it didn't happen in this little shithole town Springwood all the time didn't mean it didn't elsewhere or couldn't here. Shit! He was sick of this! Their endless questions, their searching looks, their prying eyes.  
This had better let up soon or he'd leave. Just grab Kat and take off. Change their names, go to another state without a word to was his eventual plan anyway. But it had to be played out just right. He had to let some time go by. At least 6 months, maybe a little longer to avoid looking suspicious. But if people didn't stop this prying soon he was gonna do it now , just as soon as he could.

"And you haven't heard from Loretta? NO contact at all?" Marge was asking.  
" No" he simply said shrugging his shoulders.

"Do you think you will?" She asked.  
His hands tightened into fists behind his back." I doubt it with the way she left too busy screwing her new boyfriend." he said and Marge gave a shocked glance to Kat at the table.

"Um, I guess you'll be going back to work soon. I know you've been out for a few weeks."

"Well, yeah. I had to try to help Kat adjust but I'll have to return to work next made of money you know." he said resentfully.

Marge sensed that she had overstayed her welcome and made her exit.

"Well, I've got to get back. Time to fix Dinner. Please, if theres anything we can do for you and Kat, let us know. Don and I would be happy to." Marge told Freddy as she left.

"Yes, Thank you and thank you a lot for the food. We appreciate it ." he smiled managing to muster up one last bit of charming politeness as Marge left shutting the door behind her.  
He smiled with great relief as he watched her walk back down the street through the blinds and Kat heard him mutter" nosy bitch" under his breath as he walked to the counter to cut her a piece of the pie for dessert.

The next little while passed as the last few weeks had gotten a call from his boss to come back to work next Monday if he wanted to keep his job . Daddy found himself with a real problem or so he said as he paced the living room at night talking to himself quietly as I watched had to go back to work, there was no choice. He had spent his savings while he had been off and he had to have money for us to live on now and so we could leave here later.

He had no family to watch me, sure as hell didn't trust anybody from the town to do it and couldn't leave me alone.  
Finally,he found a saw an ad a teenage girl from the next town over had put in the paper offering her babysitting and house cleaning services.  
Daddy called her on the phone and since our house was kinda close to the next town's border she agreed if Daddy would pay her the extra gas money she would need.  
Daddy grumbled but said ok.  
So not long before the sun set on Monday ,Betty came over to watch waited for her approach in the doorway with his arms folded.

He had a long list of instructions to give her. No. 1 was that I wasn't to go outside much or leave the yard alone , I wasn't to answer the phone and I wasn't to talk much to any neighbors I might saw.

Daddy said" My little girls been through a lot with the way her Mom just vanished from our lives and the people here are way too 's already had enough of their questions and gossip. She doesn't need to hear no more of it." If they come along I want you to say she has to go, move her along, take her back in the house , make up an excuse. Do you understand Betty?

I could tell by the look on her face that Betty thought it was weird, but she nodded and said " Sure, Mr. Krueger. Whatever you say."

Daddy picked up his lunchbox and put on his brown hat and as he went out the door, he petted me on the head and said" I'll be back from work as soon as my shift ends you be a good know what I mean." he said his eyes boring into me as he left.

Things went on ok for a little wasn't a bad babysitter. We mainly stayed in the house and she made me simple meals and I watched tv , played with my toys and read my storybooks.

She took me out to the backyard for about an hour before dark and let me play while she sat on the grass and read her romance novels.  
Then one day around noon when Daddy was asleep on the couch where he had collapsed after coming home from his shift and I was playing a board game by myself, the phone rang and Daddy sprang to answer it. It was his work. There was an emergency at the plant and he was needed . No getting out of slammed down the phone and ran around cursing as he got dressed. He frantically called Betty who told him she'd have to cancel a Dr.s appointment to come now and would have to charge him double. Daddy steamed fine and slammed the phone down again.  
Finally ready to go, he told me that Betty would be here in an hour , that He was locking the door behind him and I was to stay in the house and quietly wait for her to arrive.  
With a warning to me that I'd better behave, he left quickly.

Betty arrived later and we sat in the living room.

At 5 PM she looked at the clock said it was time for her to start my Supper and she went into the Betty worked and listened to the radio to pass the time she reflected on her new job and circumstances.  
She had been babysitting for some years now ever since she was 14 and Kat was a joy to look after. Calm and quiet she tended to do what she was told and seemed to spend much of her time wrapped up in her own little was nothing like so many of the little nightmares that Betty had cared for in her other babysitting jobs.  
The pay was decent and having her gas money covered was extra fact this was one of the best jobs that Betty had ever was one one thing she could find fault with in this gig- her boss Mr. Krueger.  
He was a handsome guy and was outwardly pleasant but there was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on that she found deeply unnerving.  
And there was all the weird restrictions he put on Kat. She had never encountered that in a job before.  
She supposed that he was somehow doing it for Kat's own good since she naturally was so affected by her Mothers' leaving her and Kat certainly didn't seem to be abused in any way but there was still something about it that stuck in Betty's craw all the same.

Then the doorbell rang and Betty startled, hastened to answer opened the door to a man in A khaki uniform who holding up a badge identified himself as Lt. Donald Thompson, Springwood Police.

"Good evening Miss. I need to speak with Kathryn Krueger please." he stated. Betty looked nervously at Kat sitting on the floor drawing with her crayons.  
"Um, can I ask why?" Betty stammered.

No. This is confidential police business." Donald was firm.

"Well, I don't think so. You see I've got strict orders from her Father that she's not to see or talk to anyone while I'm watching her and I have to abide by his orders. Maybe you could come back when he's here but I just can't let you see her now. Ok?" Betty's heart was racing in fear. She couldn't believe she was saying this to the police!

"No, not young lady, I have every right to question Katherine at this time.I live right up the street. I can have her back in no time, but I either talk to her now or you and she will both be coming downtown and I'll have to charge you with attempting to impede an active investigation. You wouldn't want that would you?"

Betty vigiriously shook her head no."Alright then.I'll return her to your charge in a short while." "Come with me Katherine right now." he said and gently taking Kat by the arm steered her out the door.

Betty paced the floor in panic for several . Krueger would be furious and at her!  
What could she do? How was she going to handle this?  
Finally after what seemed like hours of debating within herself, she decided the only thing to do was to place an urgent call to him at she wasn't supposed to do except in cases of emergency but in Betty's mind this qualified.  
Hopefully, then his wrath wouldn't fall on her head as surely he would see that under the circumstances she had done the only thing she could do?  
After several more minutes, she worked her up courage and slowly walked to the phone.

As they walked the short distance down the street to his house Donald looked down at the fearful child could feel her trembling as she held his hand. He knew the kid had been through a lot and he hated to put her through more but he had no choice but to question her.  
He had been hoping for weeks to get a chance.  
Fred kept her locked up most of the time and never left her side the couple times that Donald had been to the house to talk with him since Loretta's had told him that Fred had went back to work and hired a babysitter but although Donald kept out a watchful eye , he never saw the two of them outside.  
Today, Donald had forgotten of all things his gun and coming back home for a quick trip to retrieve it saw Krueger leave in a hurry alone.  
Donald waited a good 45 minutes, just looking out the window but when Krueger didn't return something inside him told him the time was now,that this might be his only opportunity.  
Calling into work he told them that he was following a lead and wouldn't be back in for a while.  
He was a good enough detective that his superiors and fellow officers tended to trust his word on such things.  
With no time to waste ,he set off up the street .

From almost the beginning , Fred Krueger's story about his wife Loretta running off with another guy hadn't rung true for Donald or his wife Marge and they had discussed it extensively.  
They had known Loretta for many years now ever since they had moved into the neighborhood as newlyweds. One of the first people to greet them had been the fellow newly wedded , and as she had laughingly informed them newly pregnant Loretta Krueger.  
Donald who remembered Fred Kruger well from their school days remembered being slightly surprised that Freddy had married such a retiring,slightly shy , all American girl but the years had went on and both couples seemed to do well.  
It was Marge that had , had the most contact with Loretta of had maintained a very friendly neighborly relationship sometimes having a cup of coffee or dessert and taking care of each others kids when one was in a bind.  
When Loretta's parents had come to the police station to report their daughter missing,Fred and Marge were instantly alarmed.  
Their concern only grew when after Donald went to talk to Fred and he had given them his"My wife left me sob story" complete with note.  
That sure didn't sound like the Loretta they knew.  
For one thing she was utterly devoted to her daughter and they couldn't believe that she would leave her behind or not make some sort of arrangements about seeing her.  
And as Marge pointed out , Loretta was a salt of the earth type some flirty , restless neighborhood vamp.  
All that combined with the desperate pleadings of Loretta's parents and Donald knew something was very wrong.  
The problem was is that if there had been foul play as Donald feared , Fred had covered his tracks far too well.  
You certainly couldn't arrest or charge a man on nothing more than your suspicions which was all that Donald had right now despite a lot of digging on his part.

No, he believed that in unlocking the mystery of what had happened to her Mother, little Katherine held the key.  
And he had to do whatever he could within reason to get the truth from her.

He led Kat into the house and directing her to sit down ,had Marge bring her a soda.  
"Now Katherine, I'm sure you know why I brought you here today right? Why I need to talk to you?" Katherine nodded .

"I need to talk to you about your Mommy Kat. Do you know what happened to her?"  
Kat nodded her head." Yes, she left us forever and she's not coming left with another man."

"And have you heard from her?" Kat shook her head no.  
"Then how do you know this Kat? Did you see her life or did she tell you she was leaving?"  
Kat shook her head no again.

"Then you only know this because your Daddy told you right?"

"Yes, but my Daddy doesn't lie." Kat fired back at him very defensively for such a young child.  
And so on and on went the questioning for 20 minutes until Donald sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration.  
This wasn't going to be an easy kid to break. Krueger had her trained very well.  
He was going to have to take a different approach.  
After gathering his wits for a few minutes Donald leaned in closer towards Kat and said softly "Katherine, you know your Mother loved you very much right? I mean you were her pride and joy. All she ever talked about. Do you realize this Katherine?"

Kat nodded yes while attempting to bat back the first hint of tears trying to form behind her eyes.

"Now Kat when someone loves someone else that much, its a special kind of Mom would have done anything for you Katherine. If someone had hurt you, she'd have went to the ends of the earth to protect you or try to make it right. She'd have never given up on that or you.  
Because she loved you that much. Do you love your Mother Katherine?"

Kat hurriedly nodded yes.

"Well then Kat if someone hurt your dear Mother and you know something about it, you have a duty to her to tell what you don't then you are letting down your Mommy in the worst way .  
You are betraying her Katherine, turning your back on her down. I know you know what happened won't you tell me? For your poor Momma's sake?"

Katherine was shaking violently in her chair and fighting a battle inside herself. What Mr. Thompson was saying kept echoing as her Mothers final moments flashed and pounded in her fevered mind.

Finally , it was as if everything she had been keeping contained these last few weeks burst out and in a sobbing scream she burst out with the truth" Yes, Yes Daddy killed Mommy. She looked in his secret room and he got so he didn't mean to! He didn't, he didn't! I swear!" and convulsed with sobs.

Donald and Marge shared a quick look of knowing triumph and Marge moved quickly to take hysterical child into her arms and rock her back and forth while Donald got up and grimly went to the telephone in the other room to make the arrangements for Krueger's arrest and Kat's entry into foster care.  
She needed a safe place to go quickly and the sooner Fred was behind bars the better as far as Donald was concerned.

Meanwhile , Betty was frantically running out of 1428 Elm.  
Throwing her purse haphazardly into the front seat she backed out of the driveway and turning her car towards the other end of the street, burned rubber out of Springwood.  
The sheer rage that Mr. Krueger had unleashed on her over the phone had left her shaken to the core. She hadn't had the easiest life but had never experienced such fury directed at her before.  
He had informed her that he was coming home right away to " deal with this bullshit and heads are going to fuckin roll" and slammed down the phone.  
Betty didn't know for certain if that meant that he intended to do any dealing with her but she wasn't going to take a chance to find out.

As he always paid her in weekly installments he owed her a weeks pay but that was 'd gladly let it go.  
It was a small price to pay in exchange for getting out of this situation unscathed.  
Betty hoped with all her heart that little Katherine would be alright, but hoping seemed to be about all she could do.  
And with that though, she tried to settle her jangled nerves as left the Springwood town limits and its charming , brand new sign extolling its virtues for raising a family and hoped to put this whole thing behind her.

Within less than 30 minutes a sense of mini panic had descended over the neighborhood. Police cars were parked on the street near the Kruger house and the cops that came with them were discussing leaving shortly to go arrest Fred at the power plant.  
The social workers were just arriving in a dark blue sedan to take Katherine away to the Springwood children's home until other arrangements could be made for her.  
This is precisely the scene that Freddy ran into when he zoomed into his street towards his house.  
Freddy cursed to himself as he saw the police cards but as he stepped out of the car he vowed to keep his there was still a way out of this. After all they'd never find a trace of Loretta now and he had trained Kat very well. Taking a deep breath he faced Donald Thompson as he approached him.  
"Donald, whats going on? " he asked trying to look bewildered.  
"Whats going on Fred is that you are under arrest for the murder of your wife Loretta Kruger. You can ask for a lawyer once we get downtown .Now put your hands behind your back and turn around." Donald ordered matter of factly.

"What? No, no. Wheres Kat? Katherine, Katherine!" Fred yelled out looking around Wildly.

"Fred, Katherine is alright. Besides I think you have other things to worry about right now." Donald said sarcastically.  
Just then, the car carrying little Katherine away drove had been tearfully looking out the window and when she saw her Father she screamed "Daddy, Daddy"! and tried to climb out the window.  
Fred saw this and his heart sank. They'd done it. Despite all his vigilance and effort they'd gotten to his little girl. They'd turned her against him. And now they were taking her away from him.

Freddy violently shrugged off the officers trying to contact him and sprinted after the car."No, no Katherine!No,don't take her! Don't take my baby! Katherine!"  
Kat wriggled into the back seat and crying hysterically the last thing she saw was her Father being wrested to the ground by police officers as the car turned the corner and Elm Street faded from view.  
Kat cried bitterly for hours long after arriving at the children's home. What had she done? How could she have become of the weak people her Daddy hated and always warned her against? Her Mommy was gone and now she had betrayed her beloved Daddy. She knew she had. Oh why had she done it? Why hadn't she been stronger? Been more able to hold up against Mr. Thompson's questions like her Daddy had taught and asked her to do?  
Now she'd probably never see him again and who knew what would happen to him?  
He was all she 's hysterical sobs lasted well into the night and finally at 11 PM after many attempts to comfort her, the weary staff at the home gave up and put her under deep sedation.  
They knew this was a child who would have many challenges and a long road ahead but they'd done all they could tonight. They'd deal with her tomorrow. After all, tomorrow was a new day.

Donald Thompson stepped over the threshold of Freddy's home prepared to begin carrying out the search warrant that had just come down from the judge.  
It had been a bitch of a day.  
Fred had not went quietly or had taken 4 of his men to take Krueger down and get him into the car for the ride to the jail.  
Finding out that his neighbor really had killed his wife even though he had suspected him all along wasn't fun either.

What he really hoped now was to determine if Loretta 's body was somewhere on the premises. They were already putting lights out in the backyard and bringing in the cadaver dogs in case they got a hit.  
Donald was flush with tiredness but had much ahead to do. They'd likely be here all night.  
"Ok Krueger, Let's see whats in your hiding place." Donald muttered as he pulled on his plastic gloves and went in search of Freddy's "secret room".  
What he would find there would send shockwaves through a town, start a legend and would bring into being a real life dream demon whose reign would be eternal.

THE END!


End file.
